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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
[SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT. ]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
SYRIAC MISCELLANIES
EXTRACTS
RELATING TO THE
FIEST AND SECOND GENEEAL COUNCILS,
AM) VARIOUS OTHER QUOTATIONS,
THEOLOGICAL, HISTOEICAL, & CLASSICAL.
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FROM MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM
AND IMPERIAL LIBRARY OF PARIS.
WITH NOTES
BY
B. H. CO¥PER.
r.
/->
'*
WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,
14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON:
AND
20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.
MDCCCLXI.
p
HERTFORD !
PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN,
FORE STREET.
PEEFACE.
The following pages owe their appearance to no public
desire to investigate the Syriac Literature deposited in
the British Museum. England has produced some of the
most successful explorers and discoverers of Syriac Manu-
scripts, and has at this moment a most precious collection
of such MSB., which is unequalled by any other in
Europe. But, unhappily, there is little curiosity among
the general or even the literary public to know anything
about the matter. When Robert Huntington made his
collections in the 17th century, he was held in honour
and rewarded with a Bishopric. When Claudius Rich pro-
cured his invaluable collection it was purchased by the
nation ; and such modern names as Buchanan and Lee,
are none the less remembered for their zeal in this de-
partment. Dr. Cureton we all pronounce illustrious in
connection with this literature ; he has been forward in
promoting measures for procuring MSS., painstaking in
their arrangement, diligent in their examination, and both
accurate and learned as an editor. Dr. Etheridge also has
IT PREFACE.
rendered good sendee to the cause as a compiler and trans-
lator. A few others haTe done something worth honour-
able mention, among whom is Mr. Payne Smith, the
editor and translator of Cyril on Luke, and the translator
of the third part of John of Ephesus' Church History.
But beyond this, little has been done among us, and the
deficiencies in this department are many and grievous.
The MSS. in the British Museum have not been efficiently
catalogued, and their fall contents can only be known
by wearisome personal inspection. We have no complete
lexicon of the language, and only two or three Syriac
English Grammars. There is very little general know-
ledge of even the old Peshito version, the most ancient,
as to the New Testament, and still less acquaintance with
other works. The immense collection in the British Mu-
seum has been stigmatized as a mass of Monophysitism,
and thus depreciated by opprobrious epithets. And yet
there is in some minds, happily an increasing number, a
desire to know more of these things. This laudable cu-
riosity ought to be gratified, and doubtless it will be
eventually found that the MSS. in question are an import-
ant supplement to our knowledge on many subjects. The
information and extracts they contain as to the Fathers,
Creeds, Councils, and Church History, are considerable. In
addition to versions of much that we already possess, there
are many fragments and entire treatises hitherto unknown.
This is true both of known and otherwise unknown authors.
PREFACE. Y
The following miscellaneous matters owe their appear-
ance to the request of the Syro-Egyptian Society, whose
members feel a praiseworthy interest in this matter. They
requested me to publish a few things in English in order
to show what might be obtained from the Syriac MSS.
with which I am acquainted. I cheerfully comply with
this wish, and have thrown together, with a few supple-
mentary observations, some of the extracts which I have
made. These have been designedly few and brief. It
would have been easier to select some one treatise, but
perhaps not so well for the purpose intended. Hence
there will here be found a diversity of quotations on a
variety of subjects. Some of them I had already pub-
lished, but I have thoroughly revised the translation of
them and omitted many of the notes. Some of them are
of little value, and yet all have peculiar features. Those
on the first Mcene Council are the fullest, and to illus-
trate them I have added a remarkable Greek list of the
Bishops who attended that Council, and a fragment of one
in Coptic. I have also given a version of the Mcene
Canons for comparison with the copies in Greek and Latin,
and as this version, like the list of members, is from the
oldest MS. of them yet known, it cannot fail to be in-
teresting. From the same document I have copied a list
of those who attended at the Council of Constantinople in
a.d. 381, and a few other matters. These lists are im-
portant in reference to the names of Bishops and of places,
VI PREFACE.
as well as for the student of ancient geography. The
fragments from Greek authors are obscure, and include
some names with which I am otherwise unacquainted.
Their ehief interest arises from the fact that they clearly
form part of some document of the nature of an apology,
and are, therefore, in all probability, very ancient. It is
well known that the apologists of the second and third
centuries defended Christianity by copious citations from
Pagan writers, and this is constructed on the same plan,
as the conclusion shows. The extracts from Diodes may
not be free from interpolation, but they claim to represent
the first historian of Rome, a historian from whom, Plu-
tarch tells us, Fabius Pictor drew largely. As to the
extracts from Christian authors, they are merely speci-
mens of thousands contained in the MSS., and yet present
some points of interest. The matters drawn from the old
Syriac Chronicle may furnish the student of history with
a few facts, and among them the list of the first successors
of Mahomet is peculiarly interesting. This MS. belongs
to the 8th century, and is evidently a compilation from
the Chronicle ascribed to Hippolytus, that of Eusebius,
and others. The notice of two martyrologies is simply
intended to show that at a very early period the legends
of superstition were not confined to the Western world.
If any readers are disappointed with the selection I
have made I shall regret it. But it must be borne in
mind that my object has been somewhat peculiar, and
PREFACE. Vll
that this work is meant to meet the wishes of those who
may take the trouble to investigate it. Yet even on such
a text a large biographical, geographical, and chronolo-
gical commentary might be written.
The version is for the most part very literal, and I
have aimed rather to give the sense of the originals than
to produce what is called a readable book. There are
places where I may have missed the meaning, either be-
cause of the obscurity of the construction or the defects
of our lexicons, which do not contain all the words.
I must express my thanks to the Council of the Syro-
Egyptian Society for their kindness in promoting a pub-
lication for which they are well aware there can be no
remunerative demand, and of which only a small number
of copies have been printed. I have cheerfully done my
part, and hope they will find in it at least a few things
which will gratify them,
B. H. COWPEK,
CONTENTS.
iagb
Preface
Council op Nicea : Extracts from the Codex Syriacus, No. 38, in the
Imperial Library at Paris 1
Extracts from the Syriac MSS. No. 14,528, etc., in the British Museum 5
Nicene Catalogue of Fathers and Cities, by Theodorus Lector 25
Fragments of a Coptic List of the same 31
Council of Constantinople: Extract from the MS. No. 14,528 34
The Councils op Antioch, Ancyra, etc 40
Fragments of Greek Authors 43
Diocles on the Origin op Kome, etc 48
Fragments of Christian Authors 53
Miscellaneous Chronological Items from the Syriac MS. No. 14,643... 75
Notice of early Councils from the same 88
Ancient List of Mahomet and his Successors from the same , 92
Notice of two Martyrologies from No. 14,644 93
Observations... 99
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES,
THE COUNCIL OF NICEA.
EXTRACTS FROM THE CODEX SYRIACUS 38 IN THE IMPERIAL
LIBRARY AT PARIS, P. 249, ETC. WRITTEN ABOUT A.D. 795.
Again : l Of the great and holy and oecumenical Synod of
318 holy Fathers, which was held at Nicea, the metropolis of
Bithynia, in the year 636 of the reckoning* of the Greeks,
from Selencus Nicator, king of Syria, which is the reckoning
of the Edessenes ; in the consulship of the illustrious Paulinus
and Julianus : in the month Haziran, on the 19th thereof, the
13th before the calends of July, in the 20th year of the lover
of Christ, the great Constantine, the faithful king, who, when
these fathers had first assembled at Ancyra of Galatia, called
them thence to Nicea, by his epistle to them, which is this : —
Epistle of Constantine the King to the Synod of 318 Bishops.
" That there is nothing more honourable in my sight than
the fear of God, I believe is manifest to every man. Now,
because the Synod of Bishops at Ancyra, of Galatia, consented
at first that it should be, it now seems on many accounts that
it would be well for a Synod to assemble2 at Nicea, a city of
Bithynia, both because the Bishops of Italy and the rest of
the countries of Europe are coming, and also because of the
excellent temperature of the air, and also because I shall be
6 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
present as a spectator and participator of what is done.
Wherefore I signify to yon, my beloved brethren, that I
earnestly wish all of yon to assemble at this city which is
named/ that is at Nicea. Let every one of yon therefore,
considering that which is best,3 as I before said, be diligent
without any delay speedily to come, that he may be present
in his own person as a spectator of what is done. God keep
yon, my beloved brethren."
When, therefore, at once, on this command, these Fathers
speedily assembled at Nicea, on the day before named, they
determined and drew up, all of them in common, with the
Holy Spirit that was in them, a definition and confession of
faith, that which is put beneath.
Definition of Faith.
" We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all
things which are visible, and of those which are invisible :
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was the
only One begotten of the Father. Now he is of the substance
of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very
God ; and he was begotten, not made ; equal in substance to
the Father ; by whose hands everything was, both those which
are in heaven and those which are in earth ; who for us men,
and for our salvation, came down, and became incarnate, and
became man, and suffered, and arose the third day, and
ascended to heaven, and cometh to judge the living and the
dead :
" And in the Holy Ghost,
•' As to those who say there was a time when he was not, and
that before he was begotten he was not, and that he was of
things which were not, or say that he was of another sub-
stance or of another essence, or who think the Son of God
changeable or mutable, these the holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church anathematizes. "
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 3
This is the faith which the Fathers drew up — first, indeed,
against Arms, who blasphemed, and said that the Son of God
was a creature ; but afterwards also against all heresies, that
is of Sabellius and Photinus ; and against the heresies of Paul
of Samosata, and of Manes, and of Valentinus, and of Marcion ;
and against every heresy whatever which sprang1 up against
the Catholic Church ; these the 318 Fathers condemned when
they were assembled together at Tsicea.
Now they also drew up these sentences :
" Now we anathematize also those who say, like Paul of
Samosata, that before Mary the Son of God was not, but
took his beginning from his generation in the flesh ; and that
he who was of Mary was one, but the Word of God another,
and deny the Son that he was the Word of God, who was
eternally with the Father ; by whose hands all things were,
and without him nothing was ; who for us became man, when
he became incarnate of Mary the Virgin.
" And we, moreover, anathematize those-also who say that
there are three Gods, and deny that the Word, that is, the
Son of God, is God."
Because of these things, those heresies which were before
named were anathematized, and also the wicked madness of
the Arians. Concerning the Faith therefore, thus did it seem
good to all the 318 holy Bishops who were assembled together
at the Sacerdotal Synod, those that is, whose names, and
cities, and provinces, many of them, are these, which are
written below.4 But of a few of them the names were not
written. For those were zealous who wrote ; and also those
servants of God, the bishops, zealous for the faith, of the
Orientals especially, made it a care to receive the names ;
and they especially were required to sign, because in the west
there was not as with them disputation concerning heresies,
or concerning the division and disagreement about the Pass-
over. For they did not say as Sabellius, " one person, with
4 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
three names, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost/'
but as it is in the definition of the Holy Synod at Nicea,
which is above set down, " that the Father is one truly, and
the only Son is one truly, and that the Holy Ghost is one
truly." And it was also just and correct with them concern-
ing the Passover. Therefore all of them were not found at
the subscribing. Now those Bishops subscribed the orthodox
faith thus, " Such a one, Bishop of such a city, and of such a
province; so I believe as before written." Concerning the
faith, then, all the holy Synod thu sdecided and wrote ; and
thus all of them subscribed and affirmed the definition which
is before put down.
Now, concerning rules and canons ecclesiastical, these
things seemed good, and pleased all who were assembled in
the Sacerdotal Synod, before, and with, and in the presence
of the lover of God, the great and faithful King Constantine,
who not only brought to one mind the Bishops before written,
and many others whose names are not written hitherto, since
he sought and designed peace for the people of the Christians,
but also since he was present at their holy assembly, and at
the same time spake and heard, and declared those things
which were befitting and best for the holy and universal
Church of Christ. Since, therefore, when the matter was
investigated, in order that all under heaven might celebrate
the holy feast of the Passover, unanimously and at once,
without contention, there were found three parts of the world
which, with unanimity, and without variance, observed it,
together with the Eomans and Alexandrians ; but one part
only, that of the east, was found which was in uncertainty,
and continued in strife aud confusion always ; thus it seemed
well pleasing to them, " that all questioning and strife
being removed from the midst, thus also shall our bre-
thren in the east observe the feast of the Passover as do the
Eomans and Alexandrians, and all others besides, in order
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 0
that on one day, with consent and agreement of voice, all
Christians may offer praises and prayers." Therefore con-
cerning this also all those subscribed who in the east had
been divided with one another, and they ended and abolished
strife. Now when this also was set right and came to a con-
clusion, while all the great and holy Synod was assembled, it
determined and drew up those things which are written below.5
Ecclesiastical canons of the great Synod of Nicea, XX.
[The canons follow, after which the following intimations
are given].
Here end the twenty ecclesiastical canons which were
determined by the great and holy Synod of Nicea of 318
Bishops.
Again : twenty-four canons which were drawn up at
Ancyra, a city of Galatia, by the Synod which assembled
there. These canons were prior to those which were con-
stituted at Nicea, but those of Nicea are written first, because
of the authority of the great and holy Synod which was at
Nicea. Now the names of the Bishops who were assembled
at the Synod at Ancyra are these.
[The list of names at Ancyra here follows] .6
EXTRACTS FROM THE SYRIAC MS. NO. 14528 IN THE
BRITISH MUSEUM. WRITTEN A.D. 501.
Epistle of Constantine the King summoning the Bishops from
Ancyra to Nicea.
That there is nothing more honourable in my sight than
the fear of God, is, I believe, manifest to every man. Now
because the Synod of Bishops at Ancyra of Galatia consented
formerly that it should be, it hath seemed to us on many ac-
counts that it would be well for a Synod to assemble at Nicea,
6 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
a city of Bithynia, bath because of the Bishops who from Italy
and the rest of the countries of Europe are coming, and be-
cause of the excellent temperature of the air, and because I
shall be present as a spectator and participator of those things
which are done. Wherefore I signify to you, my beloved
brethren, that all of you promptly assemble at the city whicli
was named, that is at Mcea. Let every one of you therefore,
regarding that which is best, as I before said, be diligent,
without delay in anything, speedily to come, that he may be in
his own person present as a spectator of those things which
are done by the same.
God keep you my beloved brethren.7
Letter of the same Constantine against the Avians.
Constantine the King to the Bishops and nations everywhere.
Inasmuch as Arius imitates the evil and the wicked, it is
right that, like them, he should be rebuked and rejected. As
therefore Porphyry, who was an enemy of the fear of God,
and wrote wicked and unlawful writings against the religion
of Christians, found the reward which befitted him, that he
might be a reproach to all generations after, because he fully
and insatiably used base fame ; so that on this account his
writings were righteously destroyed ; thus also now it seems
good that Arius and the holders of his opinion should all be
called Porphyrians, that he may be named by the name of
those whose evil ways he imitates : And not only this, but
also that all the writings of Arius, wherever they be found, shall
be delivered to be burned with fire, in order that not only his
wicked and evil doctrine may be destroyed, but also that the
memory of himself and of his doctrine may be blotted out,
that there may not by any means remain to him remembrance
in the world. Now this also I ordain, that if any one shall
be found secreting any writing composed by Arius, and shall
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. V
not forthwith deliver up and burn it with fire, his punishment
shall be death ; for as soon as he is caught in this he shall
suffer capital punishment by beheading without delay.
A confession of faith which was made at Nicea, a city of
Bithynia, in the consulate of Paulinus and Julianus, in the
year 373 of the reckoning of the Antiochians, after Antiochus,
and in the year 636 of the reckoning of the Macedonians,
after Alexander, in the month Haziran, on the V&th of it,
and on the \Wi of the reckoning of the Romans, which is
called the calends of June, July.
I believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of all
things, visible and invisible ; And in one Lord Jesus Christ
the Son of God, who was begotten of the Father, only be-
gotten. Now he is of the substance of the Father : God of
God, Light of Light, very God of very God ; who was be-
gotten and not made ; of the same substance as the Father,
by whose hand all things were made which are in heaven and
in earth ; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down
and became incarnate, and was made man, and suffered, and
rose the third day, and ascended to heaven, and cometh to
judge the living and the dead ; And in the Holy Ghost. Now
those who say that once he was not, and that he was not
before he was begotten, or that he was from nothing, or say
that he was of another substance or essence, or think the Son
of God changeable or mutable, these the Catholic and Apostolic
Church anathematizes.
Confession of Faith of 150 Bishops who were at
Constantinople.
I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible : And in
one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who was begotten
8 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
of the Father, before all worlds, very God of very God, who
was begotten and not made ; of the same essence as the
Father ; by whose hands everything was made ; who for us
men, and for our salvation, came down, and became incarnate
of the Holy Ghost, and of Mary the Virgin, and became
man, and was crucified for us, in the days of Pontius Pilate ;
and suffered, and was buried, and rose the third day according
as the Scriptures say ; and ascended to heaven, and sitteth at
the right hand of his Father ; and cometh again in glory to
judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there is no
end : And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Lifegiver, who
proceedeth from the Father ; who with the Father and the Son,
is to be worshipped and glorified ; who spake by the prophets :
And in one Holy, Apostolic, and Catholic Church : And I con-
fess one baptism for the remission of sins : And I hope for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
NAMES OF THE BISHOPS.
Of Italy, Three.
Hosius, Bishop of Corduba, a city of Italy.8 Thus I believe
as is above written.
Yito and Vicentius, .presbyters of Kome, for our bishop
{papa) we subscribe, for we thus believe as is above written.
Of Egypt, Eleven.
Alexander of Alexandria. Secundus of Ptolemais.
Alpocration of Alphocranum. Dorotheus of Pelusium.
Adamantius of Canon. Gaius of Thmuis.
Arbetion of Barathu. Antiochus of Memphis.
Philip of Panephysus. Tiberius of Tauthatis.9
Potamon of Heraclea.
Of Thebais, Three.
Atthas of Ascedia. Volusianus of Lycon.
Tyrannus of Antinoe.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Of Upper Lybya, Five.
Daces of Berenice. Secundus of Teuchilibya.10
Zopyrus of Barce. Titus of Parsetonium.
Serapion of Antipurgos.
Of Palestine, Nineteen.
Macarius of Jerusalem.
Germanus of Samaria.
Marinus of Sebastena.
Gajanus of Sebaste.11
Eusebius of CaDsarea.
Sabinus of Gadara.
Longinus of Ascalon.
Peter of Nicopolis.
Paul of Maximianopolis.
Januarius of Jericho.
Heliodorus of Zabulon.
Aetius of Lydda.
Silvanus of Azotus.
Patrophilus of Beishan.
Asclepias of Gaza.
Peter of Aila.
Antiochus of Capitolias.
Macrinus of Jamnia.
Maximus of Eleutheropolis.
Of Phoenicia, Ten.
Zeno of Tyre. Philocles of Paneas.
iEneas of Acclio. Gregory of Berytus.
Magnus of Damascus. Marinus of Thadmor.
Theodoras of Sidon. Anatolius of Emesa.
Hellanicus of Tripolis. Badonius of Alaso.12
Of Coele Syria, Twenty-two.
Eustathius of Antioch.
Zenobius of Seleucia
Theodotus of Laodicea.
Ulpius of Apamea.
Bassianus of Raphanea.
Philoxenus of Mabug.
Solomon of Germanicia.
Papirius of Samosata.
Archelaus of Doliche.
Euphrantion of Balanea.
Palladius, Chorepiscopus.
Zoilus of Gabala.
Bassus of Zeugma.
Gerontius of Larissa.
Manicius of Hamath.
Eustathius of Aresthan.13
Paul of Neocsesarea.
Siricius of Cyrrhus.
Seleucus^ Chorepiscopus.
Peter of Gindara.
Pegasius of Harba-Kedem.14
Bassonius of Gabala.
10 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Of Arabia, Six.
Nicomachus of Bostra. Severus of Sodoma.
Cyrnon of Philadelphia. Sopater of Barathena.
Gennadius of Esbonta.15 Severus of Dionysias.
Of Mesopotamia, Five.
Ethilhas of Edessa.16 Mareas of Birtha.
Jacob of Nisibis.17 John of Persia.18
Antiochus of Resaina.
Of Cilicia, Eleven.
Theodoras of Tarsus. Paulinus of Adana.
Amphion of Epiphaneia. Macedonius of Mopsuestia.
Narcissus of Neronias. Taracondamantus of iEgse.
Moses of Castabala. Hesychius of Alexandria Minor.
Nicetas of Flavias. Narcissus of Irenopolis.
Eudsemon, Chorepiscopus.
Of Cappadocia, Ten.
Leontius of Csesarea. Gorgonius, Chorepiscopus.
Eupsychius of Tyana. Stephen, Chorepiscopus.
Erythrius of Colonia. Eudrames, Chorepiscopus.
Timothy of Cybistra. Doron, Chorepiscopus.19
Helpidius of Comana. Theophanes, Chorepiscopus.
Of Armenia Minor, Two.
Eulalius of Sebaste. Euhethius of Satala.
Of Armenia Major, Five.
Aristacius of Armenia.20 Helpidius of Comana.
Acrites of Diospontum. Heraclius of Zela.
Eutychianus of Amasea.
Of Pontics Polemicus, Three.
Longinus of Neocsesarea. Stratophilus of Pityus.
Domnus of Trapezus.
Of Paphlagonia, Three.
Philadelphus of Pompeiopolis. Eupsychius of Amastris.
Petronius of Junopolis.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 11
Of Galatia, Five.
Marcellus of Ancyra.21 Gorgonius of Cisena.
Dicasius of Tyana. Philadelphus of Juliopolis.
Arcathius of Gadmeausa.
Of Asia, Six.
Theonas of Corycus. Eutychius of Smyrna.
Menophantes of Ephesus. Mithras of Hypsepa.
Eudion of Ilium.22 Macrinus of Julium.23
Of Hellespont, One.
Paul of Ansea.
Of Lydia, Nine.
Artemidorus of Sardes. Florentius of Ancyra Ferrea.
Sares of Thyatira. Antiochus of Aurelianopolis.
Etoemasius of Philadelphia. Marcus of Standum.24
Pollio of Baris. Antiochus of Hierocaesarea.
Agogius of Tripolis.
Of Phrygia, Eight.
Nunechius of Laodicea. Athenodorus of Dorylseum.
Flaccus of Sanis. Paul of Apamea.
Procopius of Synnada. Eugenius of Eucarpia.
Pisticius of Azani. Flaccus of Hierapolis.
Of Pisidia, Ten.
Eulalius of Iconium. Tarsicius of Apamea.
Telemachus of Adrianopolis. Patricius of Ampelada.
Hesychius of Neapolis. Poly carpus of Metropolis.
Eutychius of Seleucia. Academius of Papha.
Uranicus of Limen. Heraclius of Baris.
Of Lycia, One.
Eudemus of Patara.
Of Pamphylia, Seven.
Callicles of Perga. Contianus of Seleucia.
Eurasius of Termessus. Patricius of Maximianopolis,
Zeuxes of Verabon.25 Aphrodisias of Magidon.
Domnus of Aspendum.
12 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Of the Islands, Four.
Euphrosynus of Khodes. Strategius of Lemnos.
Meliphron of Coos. Alitodorus of Oorcyra.
Of Carta, Five.
Eusebius of Antioch. Letodorus of Cibyra.
Ammonius of Aplirodisias. Eusebius of Miletus.
Eugenes of Apollonias.
Of Isauria, Seventeen.
Stephen of Barata. Cyrillus of Thaumanada.
Athenseus of Coracesium. Theodoras of Vasada.
Hedesius of Claudiopolis. Anatolius, Chorepiscopus. •
Agapius of Seleucia. Paul of Laranda.
Silvanus of Isauropolis. Conatus, Chorepiscopus.
Postus of Pansemon. Tiberius of Lystra.
Antoninus of Antioch. Aquila, Chorepiscopus.
Nestor of Syedra. Eusebius of the Parochia of
Hesychius, Chorepiscopus. [Isauropolis.26
Of Cyprus, 7 wo.
Cyrillus of Paphos. Gelasius of Salamis.
Of Bithynia, Eleven.
Eusebius of Nicomedia. Georgius of Aprusas.
Theognis of Nicea. Euhethius of Adrianopolis.
Maris of Chalcedon. Theophanes, Chorepiscopus.
Cyrillus of Cium. Kufus of Cassarea.
Hesychius of Prusa. Eulalius, Chorepiscopus.
Gorgonius of Apollonias.
Of Europe, One.
Phsedrus of Heraclea.
Of D acta, Two.
Protogenes of Serdica. Marcus of Calabria.
Of Mcesia, One.
Festus of Marcianopolis.
Of Carthage, One.
Cecilianus of Carthage.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 13
Of Macedonia , One.
Alexander of Thessalonica.
Of Dardania, Two.
Dacus of Macedonia. Budiseus of Trobon.27
Of Achaia, Three.
Pistus of Athens. Strateges of Ephestia.
Marsyas of Euboea.
Of Thessaly, One.
Olandianns of Thessaly.
Of Pannonia, One.
Domnus of Pannonia.
Of Gallia, One.
Nicasius of Divio.28
Of Gothia, One.
Theophilus of Gothia.
Of Bosphorus, One.
Cadmns of Bosphorus.
The names of the Bishops and of their cities end, which are
in all 220, because the names of the western Bishops were not
written.
Ecclesiastical Canons of the great and holy Synod of 318
Bishops, which assembled at Nicea, a, city of Bithynia, and
determined those things which are written below.
1. Of those who mutilate or cut off their members.
If a man suffers amputation by surgeons, in consequence of
disease, or is mutilated by barbarians, let him remain among
the clergy. But if, when he is well, a man mutilates himself
of his own accord, let him cease from his ministry if he is
among the clergy, and henceforth let not him that is such be
presented for ordination. And as this is manifestly spoken of
those who deceitfully and wilfully dare to cut off their mem-
bers, so if there be any who are mutilated by barbarians or
14 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
by their masters, but are otherwise, as to their conduct, found
worthy of ordination to the priesthood, these the canon allows
to enter the clergy.
2. Of those of the Heathen, who at their Baptism come to
ordination J or the Priesthood.
Since many things take place against the ecclesiastical
canon, either of necessity or through haste, so that men
newly come to the faith from the life of the heathen, and
after they have been hearers a little time, come at once to the
spiritual baptism, and at their baptism are presented for
ordination to the episcopate or eldership, it is decided that
henceforth no such thing shall be, because a certain time is
required of a hearer, and much proof after his baptism, and
this the blessed Apostle clearly shows, " Let his discipleship
not be recent, lest being lifted up, he fall into condemnation
and the snare of Satan." Now if in any of those who hur-
riedly after their baptism, forthwith have received ordination,
as time passes before him, spiritual sin should be discovered,
and he be convicted by two or three witnesses, let him be
expelled from, the clergy ; and whoever contrary to this, dares
to act against this great Synod, let him be deposed from the
priesthood.
3. Of Female Visitors.29
As to female visitors, the great Synod altogether decides
that neither with a bishop, nor with an elder, nor with a
deacon, nor with any one who is of the clergy, is it lawful
that there should be a female visitor, but only a sister or an
aunt, or one of such persons as are far from suspicion.
4. Of those in the Provinces who come to the Episcopate.
If possible, he who becomes a Bishop, ought to be con-
stituted by all the Bishops of the province. But if this can-
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 15
not be, either because of necessity or that the way is long, it is
required by all means that three be gathered together, and the
rest consenting with them in opinion and by writing, the ordi-
nation may take place, but the confirmation of what is done
shall be conceded in every province to the metropolitan.
5. Of those things which take place in a Prohibition.
As to what happens in a prohibition from the clergy, or
from the rank of the laity, by the bishops in any one of the
provinces, this opinion according to the canon [is to be held],
that those who are ejected by some shall not be received by
others ; but let enquiry be made, whether through strife, or
through contention, or through a similar cause in the Bishop
himself, they are prohibited from the communion of the
Church. But that the proof which is needed may be an
acceptable matter, it seems good to us, that in every province,
its Synod should assemble twice in a year, in order that when
all the Bishops of the province are convened together, such
questions may be tried, and so those who are clearly known
to have disobeyed the Bishop may be prohibited by all the
Bishops, until it appear either to the Bishop himself, or to the
Synod, that they should show them mercy. Now let these
synods be one before the fast of forty (days), that all conten-
tion being removed, the offering30 may be purely presented to
God ; and the other in the time of Tisri (autumn).
6. Of the Primacy which belongs to distinguished Cities,
Let the ancient customs be retained in Egypt, and in
Libya, and in Pentapolis, that the Bishop of Alexandria
should have authority over all these : because to him of
Borne also, this is customary. And so also in Antioch, and
in the other provinces, let the primacy be maintained in the
churches. Now let this be everywhere known, that if a man,
16 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
without the consent or permission of the Metropolitan, shall
become a Bishop, the great Synod determines that he shall
not be a Bishop. But if to an election, which is common to
all,31 when it is orderly and according to the ecclesiastical
canon, two or three, out of their contentiousness, shall be
opposed, let the opinion of the majority obtain and be
established.
7. Of the Bishop of Elza, that is Jerusalem.
Because the custom obtains, and ancient tradition, that
the Bishop of Jerusalem should be honoured ; while there is
to him the rank of his honour, let there be also maintained for
the Metropolitan his distinction.
8. Of those who are called Cathari.
Of those who sometimes call themselves Cathari, but who
come to the Apostolical and Catholic Church, it seemed good
to the great and holy Synod, that as they receive ordination,
so they should abide in the clergy. Bat, before all things, it
behoves that they confess in writing, that they consent to and
observe the laws of the Catholic and Apostolical Church ; now
that is, that they commune with those who live in second
marriage, and those who have denied in persecution, those
to whom also a time is determined and limited when they
shall be received ; and who adhere in all things to what is
defined in the Catholic and Apostolic Church. When, there-
fore, only they are found in a city or in villages with their
bishops, and there are not in the city or town other clergy of
the orthodox, having received ordination, let them remain in
their character. But if in a place in which there is a bishop
or presbyter of the Catholic Church, some of them come, it is
evident that the Bishop of the Catholic Church retains the
authority of his episcopate, but he that among the Cathari
is called a Bishop, shall retain the honour of presbyter ; now
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 17
that is, except it seem good to the Bishop of the Catholic
Church that he cease to retain the name of the honour of the
episcopate. But if this pleases him not, let him bestow on
him the place of Chorepiscopus or of presbyter, that he may
appear to be among the clergy, that there be not two bishops
in a city.
9. On those who come to the Eldership untried.
If, perchance, untried persons become presbyters, or those
who, when their conduct is enquired into, confess wherein
they have sinned, and when they have confessed, any act in
opposition to the canons and lay hands on them, such the
canon doth not receive, because the Catholic Church requires
unblameableness in everything.
10. On those who deny in persecutions, and afterwards come
to be Clergy.
Those who come to be clergy, of such as before denied
in persecution, whether known, or because they were not
examined and known of those who promoted them, this
prejudices the ecclesiastical canon in nothing. "When they
are known, by all means let them be expelled from their
degrees.
11. Of those who deny and are in the rank of Laymen.
As to those who deny without constraint, or without confis-
cation of their goods, or without peril, or any other oppression,
as happened in the tyranny of Licinius ; it seemed good to
the Synod, that, even if unworthy of compassion, kindness
should be shown to them. Therefore all those who perfectly
repent, shall spend three years among the hearers, if they are
baptized, and seven years with the penitent; but let them
commune two years with the people in prayer at the time
of the offering, without offering.32
18 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
12. Of those that renounce the World and again embrace the
World.
Now those who have been called by grace, and showed
their first zeal, and laid aside their girdles,33 bnt afterwards
return to their former vomit, so that some of them give gold
and arrange by means of gifts to take their service again ; let
these repent ten years, after spending three years in the rank
beneath that of hearers. Now, with regard to all these, it
behoves us to examine the disposition and kind of repent-
ance ; and those who in fear, and tears, and patience, and
good deeds, exhibit a conversion in deed and not in appear-
ance, when they have fulfilled the period appointed for being
lower than hearers, rightly participate in the prayer of the
Eucharist, and the Bishop has authority to devise some kind-
ness towards them. But those who receive it with indiffer-
ence, and think the form of merely entering the church
sufficient to them for conversion, let them by all means fulfil
the time appointed.
13. Of those who in the time of their death request Communion.
As to those who depart from the world, let the ancient and
canonical law be now also retained, that if a man depart from
the world he should not be deprived of that provision which
it is needful for him to receive ; but if, after it is decided
respecting him that he is dying, and he is admitted to
communion, and receives the Eucharist, he again returns to
health and continues in life, let him be only among those who
are partakers in the prayer of the Eucharist. But generally,
whoever departs from the world, and requests to communicate
in the holy mysteries, let the Bishop give him the Eucharist,
with much discrimination having made inquiry.
14. On Hearers who deny.
As to hearers who deny (those who are called Catechumens),
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. "19
it pleases the great and holy Synod that they shall be three
years with those who come not to the instruction (who are
called Acroatce), and shall afterwards pray with the hearers,
according' to their former rank.
15. That a Priest ought not to change from place to p lace.
Because of the many disorders and contentions which take
place, it is decided that this custom shall be utterly abolished,
which is contrary to the canon, if it be in any place found, so
that neither bishop, nor presbyter, nor deacon, shall change
from city to city. Now, if after this determination of the
great and holy Synod, any shall dare and allow himself to
practice such conduct, let his arrangements by all means be
nullified, and him be restored to the church where he has
been bishop, or presbyter, or deacon.
16. Of Clergy who do not continue in Churches in which they
were.
Those who, exposing themselves to danger, and not setting
the fear of God before their eyes, and not acknowledging the
ecclesiastical canon, remove from their churches, whether
elders or deacons, or such as are in any way inscribed in one
of the orders of the clergy, these ought by no means to be ad-
mitted into another church, but let all influence come upon
them to return to their places ; but if they are obstinate and
stay, let them be restrained from the communion of the
church. And if any one shall dare to take a person who
belongs to another, and bring him to ordination in his church,
when the Bishop from whom he has removed does not con-
sent, such ordination shall be void.
17. On Clergymen who receive Interest.
-. Whereas many who are in one of the orders of the clergy,
while they run after profit and base gains, forget the divine
20 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Scripture, which says, " He giveth not his money for usury,"
and when they lend exact so much per cent. ; the holy Synod
adjudges that, if after this determination any man shall be
found to take interest, or in any way whatever shall use this
practice, and demand a portion, or deyises anything else for
base gain, he shall be expelled from the clergy, and be
alienated from his ministry.
18. On the precedency of Pres byters .
It hath been made known to the great and holy Synod,
that in divers places and cities the deacons give the Eucharist
to the presbyters, when neither canon nor custom sanctions
that such as have no authority to offer the Eucharist
should give the body of Christ to those who offer it ; and
this also has been made known, that some of the deacons
receive the Eucharist even before the bishops : let all these
things therefore be removed, and let the deacons abide in
their proper stations, knowing that they are the ministers of
the bishop, and beneath the elders. Let them therefore
receive the Eucharist in order after the presbyters, either the
bishop or a presbyter giving it to them. Moreover, it is not
conceded to deacons to sit among the presbyters, because it
is contrary to order and the canons. Now if any one will not
be obedient to what is determined, let him be removed from
his ministry.
19. Of those who come to the Church from the Heresy of Paul
the Samosatene.
With regard to those who have been of the heresy of Paul,
and afterwards take refuge in the Catholic Church, we lay
down a rule that by all means they should be baptised again :
but if any of them in time past were in the clergy, if they
are found to be without rebuke and without blame, let them
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 21
be baptised again, and receive ordination from some bishop
of the Catholic Church : but if, when inquiry is made respect-
ing them, they appear to be unfit, let them be expelled from
their places ; so also with regard to deaconesses, and all those
who are in the ministry,34 let this order be observed : but
deaconesses we admonish that, because they are (such) in
appearance, and have not received ordination, they will be
altogether reckoned with the danghters of the world.
20. On Kneeling.
Because there are men who on the first in the week and
on the days of Pentecost bow the knee : in order that every-
thing may be worthily and uniformly observed in every
province, it hath seemed good to the holy Synod that all of
us should offer prayer to God, standing.
Fragments from No. 14526, fol. 38.
Again, a history of these Synods. Now the Synod of
Nicea was assembled in the days of Constantine the Great ;
and its chiefs were Alexander, Archbishop of Alexandria ; and
in the place of the papa of Rome, Vinto and Yicentius, pres-
byters of Rome. . . . .
Again : now the Synod of Nicea was assembled because of
the affairs of wicked Arius, who alienated the Son from the
nature of the Father ; and in that he was begotten of the
Father, they called him " made," and a " creature," and
(said) that he was not of the same nature as the Father.
It may not be uninteresting to append here a translation
of a Creed, professing to be by Athanasius, from a Syriac MS.
in the British Museum, No. 12,156, which was written a.d.
90
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
562. The volume contains, among other things, the treatise
of Timothy of Alexandria " against the Council of Chalcedon,'>
which includes a large number of extracts from the Fathers.
The Creed bears evident marks of a Monophysite origin. I
am not aware of its existence elsewhere.*
Creed of the blessed Athanasiits, head of the bishops {Arch-
bishop) of Alexandria, upon the divine incarnation of
God the Word, which consents-); to that of the Holy
Synod which was in Nice.
We confess the Son of God, who before the worlds was
eternally begotten ; who in the end of the worlds was (born)
of Mary in the flesh for our redemption, as the divine
Apostle teacheth, saying, " ]NTow when the fulness of the time
was come, God sent his son who was (born) of a woman,"
and he was Son of God and God in the Spirit, but Son of
Man in the flesh. The one Son was not two natures, one
which is to be worshipped, and another not to be worshipped,
but one nature of God the Word, who became incarnate, and
is with his flesh, to be worshipped with one worship : nor are
there two Sons, one who is the Son of the true- God and to be
worshipped, but the other from Mary, the Son of Man, and
not to be worshipped, being Son of God by grace as men also
are : but he who was of God, and God, as I said, is at once
Son of God and God ; and he was not another who was also
born of Mary in the flesh in the last days. As also the angel
said to Mary mother of God, when she asked, " How shall
this be, for I know not a man ?" — " The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over-
shadow thee, and therefore that Holy One who shall be bom
of thee shall be called the Son of God." He therefore that
* Except a part of it, in No. 14,533, among the same MSS.
f Or, who consented.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 23
was born of the Virgin Mary was by nature Son of God and
the true God, and not by grace and communication. In the
flesh alone, he that was of Mary was Son of Man, but in the
Spirit he was both Son of God and God, who bore our suffer-
ings, as it is written, " Christ suffered for us in the flesh ;"
and again, " For he that spared not his own Son, but gave
him up for us all." For he continued impassible and immu-
table in the divinity, as it is said by the prophet, " I am God
and I change not," who died our death in the flesh for our
sins, that he might remove death by death for us, as the
Apostle saith, " Death is swallowed up in victory. 0 Death,
where is thy victory ? 0 Grave, where is thy sting ?" And
again, " Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."
Now he continued incomprehensible and immortal in death,
in the divinity, according to the impassible power of the
Father, as Peter saith, " It was not possible that he should
be holden of death." And he ascended to heaven and sitteth
at the right hand of the Father, according to his flesh (viz.),
that of the Word, which went up from earth, as was said by
David, " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right
hand," which is affirmed of our Lord both by him and by
the Apostles. Now in the Divinity he is infinite, and every
place is limited by him. With the Father, who is eternal, he
is a son of eternity (= eternal), according to the paternal
power which is ineffable, according to the teacher Paul,
" Christ the power of God, and Christ the wisdom of God."
And he cometh, being Son of God and God as is confessed,
that he may judge the living and the dead, as the Apostle
saith, " Who shall judge the hidden things of darkness, and
reveal the thoughts of the hearts : and he shall render glory
and contempt to every man as becometh him."
Now if a man teach other than these things from the
divine Scriptures, saying that the Son of God is one, and the
Son of Man who was of Mary is another who was made a son
24 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
by grace as we are, so that there are two Sons, one by nature
Son of God, who was of God, and one by grace, the Son of
Man who was of Mary ; or if a man say that the flesh of our
Lord is from above, and not of the Virgin Mary ; or that the
Divinity partook of the flesh, or was confounded or commuted
with it ; or that the Divinity of the Son was passible ; or that
the flesh of our Lord is not to be worshipped, inasmuch as it
is that of the Son of Man, and is not to be worshipped as
being the flesh of our Lord and our God : such a one the
Holy and Catholic church anathematizes, since the divine
Apostle enjoins it, saying, " If a man preach to you other
than ye have received, let him be anathema."
From the same MS. we obtain the Nicene Creed in the fol-
lowing form : —
Confession of Faith of the great and holy Synod of 318
blessed Fathers at Nice,
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible :
And in one Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, who was
begotten of the Father, the only begotten. Now he is of the
Substance of the Father ; God of God ; Light of Light ; very
God of very God ; who was begotten and not made ; of the
same substance as the Father ; by whom all things were made
which are in heaven and which are on earth ; who for us men
and for our redemption, came down and became incarnate,
and became man, and suffered, and rose the third day : and
he ascended to heaven, and shall come to judge the living and
the dead :
And in the Holy Ghost.
Now those who say that once he was not, and that he was
not before he was begotten, or that he was from nothing*, or
say that he was of another substance or essence, or that the
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 25
Son of God was mutable or changeable ; these the Catholic
and Apostolic Church anathematizes.
This which is one and alone was constituted against the
Avians.
I shall insert here a version of two lists of Nicene Fathers.
The first was originally printed by Zoega, and reprinted by
Pitra in the Spicilegiwn Solesmense as part of a document
which contains much in common with the extracts above given
from the Paris MS. The second list is ascribed to Theodorus
Lector, and has been only once printed in the original Greek
by Morelli in his Bibliothcca MS., Grceca et Latina ; Bassano,
1802. I owe my acquaintance with this list to the most
severe of my critics in the Christian Remembrancer. How-
ever, fas est et ab hoste doceri, and I have translated both it
and Dom Pitra's Coptic list for comparison with my own.
Let it be observed, moreover, that Theodorus Lector, to whom
the Greek list is ascribed, is referred by Cave to a.d. 520, or
about 20 years later than the Syriac Catalogue was written
down in the manuscript from which it has been copied.
The list of Theodorus is preceded by a short notice, as
follows : —
" I think it instructive to put down here also the names of
the Bishops who assembled at Nicea, as far as I could find
them ; and of what province and city each was ; and the time
in which they met."
The list then follows.
GREEK LIST OE THEODORUS.
Spain, One.35
Hosius, Bishop of Corduba, so I believe, as it is written.
Rome, Two.
Vito and Vicentius, presbyters.
26
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Egypt, Eleven.
Of Alexandria, Alexander.
Harpocration, Alphocranon.
Zeno, Adamantius.36
Of Pharbsethus, Arbetion.
Of Panyphis, Philippus.
Of Heracleos, Potamon.
Of Ptolemais, Secundus.
Of Pelusium, Dorotheus.
Of Thmuis, Caius,
Of Memphis, Antilogus.
Of Tauthite, Tiberius.
Thebais, Four.
Attheas of Scete. Lisianus of Lycse.
Tyrannus of Antinous. Paphnutius.
Daces of Berenice.
Zopyrus of Barce.
Upper Libya, Four.
Sarapion of Antipurgos.
Secundus of Tauche.37
Lower Libya, One.
Titus of Patronium.
Palestine, Nineteen.
Macarius of Jerusalem. Paulus of Maximianopolis.
Germanus of Neapolis.
Marianus of Sebastenus.
Gainus of Sebaste.
Eusebius of Csesarea.
Sabinus of Gadara.
Longinus of Ascalon.
Petrus of Nicopolis.
Marianus of Jamnia.
Maximus of Eleutberopolis.
Januarius of Jericho.
Heliodorus of Zabula.
Aetius of Lydda.
Silvanus of Azotus.
Patrophilus of Scythopolis.
Asclepius of Gaza.
Petrus of Aila.
Antipatros of Capitolias.
Phoenicia, Eight.
Zeno of Tyre. Hellanicus of Tripolis.
Aeneas of Ptolemais. Philocalus of Paneas.
Magnus of Damascus. Gregorins of Berytus.
Theodoras of Sidon. Anatolius of Emesa.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
27
Coele-Sgria, Twenty-one
Eustathius of Seleucia. Bassus of Zeuma.
Theodotus of Laodicea.
Alphius of Apamea.
Basianus of Raplianea.
Philoxenus of Hierapolis.
Salamanes of Germanicia.
Piperius of Samosata.
Archelaus of Doliche.
Euphration of Balanea.
Phaladus, Chorepiscopus.
Zoilus of Gabala.
Arabia
Nicomacus of Bostra.
Gerontius of Larissa.
Manicius of Epiphania.
Eustathius of Arethusa.
Paulus of Neocsesarea.
Syricius of Cyprus.
Seleucus, Chorepiscopus.
Petrus of Gindara.
Pegasius of Armocadama.
Bassones of Tabule.
Cyrion of Philadelphia.
Gennadius of Jebunda.
Severus of Sodoma.
Sopater of Beritaneus.
Severus of Dionysias.
Twelve.
Dionysius of Mesopotamia.
Aithalas of Edessa.
Jacobus of Nisibis.
Antiochus of Resiina.
Maraias of Macedonopolis.
Joannes of Persia.
Cilicia, Ten.
Paulinus of Adana.
Macedonius of Mopsuestia.
Tarcodemantus of Aegea.
Hesy chins of Alexandria Minor.
Narcissus of Irenopolis.
Amphion of Epiphanea.
Narcissus of Neronias.
Moses of Castabala.
Nicetasof Phleias.
Eudaimon, Chorepiscopus.
Cappadocia, Eight.
Leontius of Csesarea. Elpidius of Comana.
Eutychius of Tyana. Gorg'onius, Chorepiscopus.
Erothrius of Colonia. Eudromius, Chorepiscopus.
Timotheus of Cybistra. Theophanes.
Armenia Minor, Two.
Eulalius of Sebastia. Euethius of Satala.
Armenia Magna, One.
Arustaces.
28 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Crete, Four.
. . . of Diospontum. Elpidius of Comana.
En ty chius of Amasea. Heraclius of Zola.
Pontics Polemoniacus, Three.
Longianus of Neocsesarea. Stratophilus of Pityunta.
Domnus of Trapezunta.
Papklagene, Three.
Philadelphus of Pompeiopolis. Euty chius of Amastris.
Petronius of Junopolis.
Galatia, Five.
Marcellus of Ancyra. Gorgonius of Cinae.
Dicasius of Tarbia. Philadelphia of Julipolis.
Erichthius of Damaba.
Asia, Seven.
Theonas of Cyzicum. Mithres of Hypyrpa.
Menophantus of Ephesus. Marianus of Troas.
Orion of Ilium. Paulus of Anora.
Euty chius of Smyrna.
Lydia, Nine.
Artemidorus of Sardis. Florentius of Ancyra Ferrea.
Seras of Thyatira. Antiochus of Hidron-Csesarea.
Etoemasius of Philadelphia. Antiochus of Aurelianopolis.
Pollio of Baris. Marcus of Stan don.
Agogius of Tripolis.
Phrygia, Fifteen.
Nunechius of Laodicea. Eutychius of Seleucia.
Flaccus of Sanada. Araunius of Limena.
Pistus of Azana. Tarsicus of Apamia.
Athenodorus of Dorylleum. Patricias of Amblada.
Paulus of Apamia. Polycarpus of Metropolis.
Eugenius of Eucarpia. Academius of Papse.
Flacus of Hierapolis. Heracleus of Baris.
Hesy chius of Neapolis.
Lycia, Two.
Nicolaus of Myra of Lycia. Eudemus of Patara.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
29
Callicles of Perga.
Pamphylia, Seven.
Cyntianus of Seleucia.
Patricius of Mazimianopolis.
Aphrodisius of Magyda.
Euresius of Termissus.
Zeuxius of Syarma.
Domnus of Aspenduni.
Islands, Four.
Euplirosymis of Rhodus. Strategius of Lemnus.
Meliphron of Cous. Alitodorus of Cercyra.
Caria, Five.
Eusebius of Antiochia. Letodorus of Cibyra.
Ammonius of Aphrodisias. Eusebius of Miletus.
Eugenius of Appolonias.
Isauria, Seventeen.
Stephanus of Carata.
Athengeus of Gorpissus.
Edesius of Claudiopolis.
Agapius of Seleucia.
Silvanus of Metropolis.
Faustus of Panemitichus.
Antonius of Autioch.
Nestor of Syedra.
Cyrillus of Oumandra.
Theodoras of Ou-Andala.
Anatolius, Chorepiscopus.
Paulus of Laranda..
Cyntus, Chorepiscopus.
Tiberius of Alistra.
Acylas, Chorepiscopus.
Eusebius of Paroechia.
Hesychius, Chorepiscopus.
Cyprus, Two.
Cyrillus of Paphus. Gelasius of Salamine.
Bythinia, Nine.
Eusebius of Nicomedia.
Theoguius of Nicsea.
Maris of Chalcedon.
Cyrillus of Cyuin.
Hesychius of Prusa.
Pederos of Heraclia.
Protogenes of Sardica.
Gorgonius' of Apollonias.
Georgius of Prusias.
Euethius of Adriana.
Theophanes, Chorepiscopus.
Europa, One.
Dacia, Two.
Marcus of Calabria.
BO SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Mysia, One.
Pistus of Marcianopolis.
Africa, One.
Csecilianus of Carthage.
Macedonia, One.
Alexander of Thessalonica.
Dardania, One.
Dactis.
Achaia, Two.
Pistus of Athense. Barsos.39
Byotia, One.
Strategius of Hyphestia.
Thessalia, One.
Claudianus of Larissa.
Dardania.
Pannonia, One.
Gallia, One.
Gotthia, One.
Bosphorus, One.
Cadmus.
At the end of the Greek list we read :—
" We have been able to find the names of so many, but of
the others we have thus far not found them. And the time of
the Synod, as we find in the Annotations, was the consulship
of Paulinus and Julianus, on the 20 th of the month of May ;
and this was the 636th year from Alexander King of Mace-
donia's 19th year. The business of the Synod, then, was ac-
complished, and it should be. known that after the Synod the
King set out to the Eastern parts."
Budius of Stobse.
Domnus.
Nicasius Duia.
Theophilus.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 31
COPTIC LIST.
Spain, One.
Hosius of the city of Corduba, I believe as above written.
Becon and Ionocentus,40 presbyters. We subscribe for our
Bishop, who is of Rome ; he believes as above written.
Alexander, Archbishop.
Thebais, Fifteen.
Athas of Scethia. v Arbetion of Pharboethus.
Adamantus of Coeis. Antiochus of Memphis.
Tiberius of Thmuis. Petrus of Hnes.
Gaius of Panyos. Tyranus of Antinou.
Potamon of Heracleus Throis. Plusianus of Siout.
Dorotheus of Pelusium. Dios of Tkou.
Apoc prao .... Arpocrator of Alphocranon.
Philippus of Panephyson.
Libya, Upper and Lower, Six.
Sarapion of Antipurgos. Zopyrus of Bace.
Dios of Paratonion. Secountus of Ptolmais.
Segentus of Teuchira. Takes of Berenice.
Palestine, Nineteen.
Paulus of Maximianopolis.
Januarius of Hiericho.
Aetius of Dintia.
of Sebaste. Sabinus of Azotus.
Eusebius of Csesarea. Patrophilus of Scythopolis.
Sabinus of Cadara. Asclepas of Gaza.
Longinus of Ascalon. Petrus of Ialon.
Petrus of Nicopolis. Antochus of Gapetulius.
Macrinus of Jamnia.
32
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Phoenicia, Twelve.
Zeno of Tyre. Marinus of Palmyron.
Ananias of Ptolmais. Thadoneus of Lazos.
Magnus of Damascus. Anatolius of Emetsa.
Theodoras of Sidon. Philocalus of Panias.
Ellaticus of Tripolis. Synodorus of Antaratos.
Gregorius of Betus. Ballaus of Thersea.
Syria, Superior, Fourteen.
Eustatliius of Antochia. . Archelaus of Perioche.
Zenobius of Seleucia. Euphrantion of Daneon.
Theodoras of Laodicia. Soilus of Gabalon.
Alphius of Apamia. ' Phalatus, Cliorepiscopus.
Philoxenus of Hierapolis. Bassus of Seucmates.
Salamias of Cermanicus. Sabianus of Heraphantes.
Perperius of Samusata. Cerontius of Larissa.
Syria, Inferior, Nine.
Eustathius of Arethusa. Pigasius of Abogatana.
Paulus of Neocsesarea. Balanus of Carboula.
Siricus of Cyprus. Manicius of Epimia.
Seleucius, Cliorepiscopus. Eliconos of Abalas.
Petrus of Cytalu.
Arabia, Six.
Nichomacus of Bostra.
Cyrion of Philadelphia. (Bata)neus.
Gennadius Dion
Mesopotamia, Five.
Ethalas of Edessa. Mereas of Macedonopolis.
Jacobus of Sirinus Joannes Persinus.
Antiochus of Bisiane.
Cilicia, Eleven.
Theodoras of Tarsus. Mouses of Cataballa.
Amphion of Epiphania. Mcetes of Flavianus.
Narcissus of Erotanus. Eudumon, Chorepiscopus.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 33
Paulinus of Adana.
Macedo Narcissus . . . en . . . polis.
Cappadocia, Eight.
Leontius of Csesarea. Stephanus, Chorepiscopus.
Eutychianus of Teana. Kodon, Chorepiscopus.
Erithrius of Collania. Gorgonius, Chorepiscopus.
Timotheus of Comana. Paulus of Spania.
Armenia Major, Four.
Eularius of Sebastia. Eucromius, Chorepiscopus.
Euetheius of Sadola. Theophanes, Chorepiscopus.
Armenia Alter, Two.
Arirteus of Armenia. Arices of Armenia.
Pontus, Three.
Eutychianus of Amasia. Heraclius of Sela.
Eurerius of Comana.
Pontus Polemoniacus, Three.
Longinus of Neocsesaria. Stratolius of Piteous.
Domnus of Trapezunta.
Pamphlogonia, Two?1
Philadelphius of Pompeiopolis. Eutychius of Amastria.
Galatia, Five.
Pancharius of Ancyra. Corconius of Cinse.
Dicasius of Tauias. Philadelphius of Heliopolis.
Erechthius of Tmausont.
Asia, Six.
Theonas of Cysicus. Eutychius of Smyrna.
Theophantus of Ephesus. Methres of Iemptsa.
Orion of Eli . . . . Macarius of Elion.
Lydia, Eight.
Artemetorus of Sardis. Acogius of Tripolis.
Sarapas of Thyadira. Brontius of Ancyra.
Ebdomasius of Philadelphia. Antochus of Aulilianopolis.
Pollio of Baris. Marcus of Tanton.
34 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Pkrygia, Seven.
Nunechius of Laodicea. Athenaso torus of Merineus.
Flaccus of Synanta.
Procopius of Sanata.
Pistus of Ozana.
Pisidia, Twelve.
of Iconiuin. Patricius of Alateus.
Teleniachus of Atrianopolis. Agathumius of Amordiane.
Hesychius of Neapolis. Polyearpus of Metropolis.
Eutychius of Sicion. Acatemius of Pampa.
Ouranius of Limena. Heraclius of Beresia.
Taracius of Apamia. Theodoras of Ousin.
Lycia, Two,
Adon of Lycia. Eudemus of Patara.
Pamphylia, Seven.
Reliqua desunt.
COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE.4*
Extract on Synod of Constantinople from MS., No. 14528.
" Four Canons of the Synod of Constantinople. In the
9th year of the government of Eucherins and Evagrius, in
the month Ab, of the year 429 of the reckoning of the
Antiochians.
" The Bishops which, by the grace of God, met in Con-
stantinople from various provinces at the summons of the
lover of God, Theodosius, determined.
" These definitions were made of the 150 Bishops who met
in Constantinople, at the x€Lporovia of Nectarius, the Bishop."
The 4 Canons follow, and then the list of subscribers.
"And subscribed: — Nectarius, Bishop of Constantinople."
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 35
Of Egypt, Two.
Timothy of Alexandria.
Dorotheus of Oxyrhyncus.
Of Palestine, Eight.
Cyril of Jerusalem.
Gralasius of Csesarea [Mansi Thalassius. Gelasius].
Macarius of Jericho [Mansi, Macer].
Dionysins of Diospolis [Lydda].
Saturnilus of Sebastia [Samaria].
Rufus of Beishan [Scythopolis. Mansi Nicopolis].
Auxentius of Ascalon.
Alianus of Jamnia [ Jabne] .
Of Phoenicia, Nine.
Zeno of Tyre.
Paul of Sidon.
Nectabus of Accho [Mansi, Ptolemais].
Philip of Damascus.
Barchus of Panydos [Paneas ; Caesarea-Philippi ; Mansi,
Pancadus].
Timothy of Berytus.
Basilides of Biblos [Byblos].
Mucimus of Arada [Aradus],
Alexander of Area [Arce].
Of Coele Syria, Fourteen.
Meletius of Antioch.
Pelagius of Laodicea.
Acacius of Haleb [Aleppo, Mansi, Bersea].
John of Apamea.
Binus of Seleucia [Mansi, Bizus].
Eusebius of Hamath [Mansi, Epiphanea].
Marcianus of Seleucobolis [Seleucobelus. Mansi, Seleu-
copolis].
Patrophilus of Shizar [Mansi, Larissa].
Severus of Paltos [Boldo? Mansi. Patra].
"36 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Flavian and Helpid, Presbyters of Antioch.
Eusebius of Kenneshrin [Sobo. Mansi, Chalcidensis],
Domnianus of Gabbala.
Basilianus of Baphanon.
Of Arabia, Five.
Agapius of Bozrah [Mansi, Agapius Bagadius].
Helpidius of Dionysiados [Dionysias].
Uranius of Adrados.
Chilon of Oonstantinos.
Severus of Neaspolis.
Of Osrkoene, Three.
Eulogius of Urhi [Edessa].
Vitus of Haran [Carrse].
Abraham of Batnon [Batne].
Of Mesopotamia, Three.
Mara of Amid [Mareas].
Bathi of Tela.
Jobina of Amarios.
Of Auguste Euphratia, Five.
Theodotus of Mabug [Mansi, Hierapolis].
Antiochus of Samosat.
Isidores of Cyrus [Mansi, Suriensis, etc].
Jovinus of Paran.
Mares of Dalic [Doliche].
Of Cilicia, Eight.
Diodorus of Tarsus.
Corycus of Adana.
Hysicliius of Epiphania.
Germanus of Corcos [Corycus].
Aeres of Zopyrus [Zephyrium].
Pliilomosus of Pompeiopolis.
Olympius of Mompseste [Mopsuestia].
Theophilus of Alexandria by Olympius, a presbyter.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 37
Of Cappadocia, Six.
Elladius of Csesarea.
Gregorius of JNysa.
Etherius of Tyana.
Bosphorus of Colonia.
Olympius of Parnassus.
Gregorius of Anzianzi [Nazianzum].
Of Armenia the Little, Two.
Eutlierius of Melitene [Malatia].
Eutherius of Arabissus.
Of Isauria, Eleven*.
►Symposius of Seleucia.
Montius of Claudiopolis by Paul, a Presbyter.
Philotheus of Irenopolis.
Hypsistes of Philadelphia.
Musonius of Calendaris.
Marianus of Dalisanda.
Theodosius of Antioch.
Artemius of Titiopolis.
Neon of Selinuntos [Selinus].
Montanus of Dioca3sarea.
Eusebius of Olbius.
Of Cyprus, Four.
Helios of Paphos [Mansi, Julius].
Theoporphus of Triminthuntis [Trimethunton. Mansi,
Theophilus].
Tychon of Tmessus [Tamassus],
Menemius of Citius [Citium],
Of Pamphylia, Ten.
Tryseus of Egnon [Mansi, Troilus : Lagania].
Gaius of Lerba [Lyrba],
Longinus of Oolumbarsus [Colybrasus].
Theodulus of Corcasus [Coracesion].
* Order, Mansi, 1, 3, 2, 4, 11, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 9.
38 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Hysychius of Catana.
Teuxianus of Ceson [Mansi, Cassa].
Midos of Panemus.
Heraclidus of Teichon.
Theodulus of Seilon [Sylloeum ?]
Pamenius of Ariasus.
Of Lycaonia, Thirteen.
Amphilochius of Iconium.
Cyril of Eumenadon [Mansi, Manada or Omonada].
Aristophanes of Sopatra [Sabatra].
Paulus of Lystra.
Ainazus of Corinon [Mansi, Inzus].
Darius of Mistra [Misthia],
Leontius of Parton [Barate].
Theodosius of Hyde.
Eustratius of Canon [Canna ?]
Daphnos of Derbe.
Eugenius of Prusalon [Passala?].
Elurius of Isaura.
Severus of Amblada.
Of Pisidia, Twenty-four.
Optimns of Antioch.
Theuristius of Adrianopolis.
Attilns of Parastion.
Ananius of Adadon.
Postns of Limenon [Almenia].
Joninus of Salagason [Sagalassus].
Callinicus of Pomnadon [Pomanda ?]
Eustathius of Metropolis.
Patricius of Perason [Baris].
Lycins of Neaspolis.
Lolianus of Sozopolis by Simplieius, a Presbyter.
Tyrseus, a presbyter of Amorion.
Euxenos a Presbyter of Apamea.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 39
Helladius a Presbyter of Cynseon.
Theosebius of Philomenon [Philomela ?] by Basa a Presbyter.
Titiseus of Myron.
Pionius of Comatos.
Eudemius of Patara.
Patricius of Eunoanadon [Mansi, Oenoanda].
Laipicianus of Dimoron [Mansi, Lymira].
Macedon of Casandon [Mansi, Xanthon].
Romanus of Pesalidos.
Hermseus of Bubonan [Pappa, or Bubod of Lycia, Mansi
Bubute, all doubtful].
Tyantinus of Araxus [Mansi, Theantimus, Araxa],
Of ' Phrygia Salutaria, Two.
Vitus of Prymnasus [Primnessus].
Euxenianus of Eucarpius.
Of Phrygia Pacatiana, Two.
Nectarius of Aphias [Apia].
Theodoras of Eumenius, by Propatoros [Mansi, Profuturus],
a Presbyter.
Of Carta, Two.
Eudocius of Aphrodisiados.
Leontius of Oitharon [Mansi, Oibyra],
Of Bithynia, Five.
Euphronius of Nicomedia.
Dorotheus of Nicea.
Olympius of Neoceesarea.
Theodulus of Chalcedon.
Eustathius of Prusas.
Of Pontus Amasea, One.
Pansophius of Hiboron [Mansi, Iberorum, of the Iberi].
Of Elysia, One.
Martyrius of Marcianopolis.
Of Scythia, Three.
Ternatius of Tomseon.
40 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Etherius of Carsadisus [Mansi, Chersonnesus].
Sebastianns of Anchialon.
Of Spain, One.
Agrius of Hemimonton [Mansi, Immomonton, etc.]
Of Pontics Polemicus, One.
Atrabius by Aquilimus, a Lector [Mansi, Atarbius by Cylus] .
Which are hi all 135, and 11 who signed by others.
The list contains 146 names of subscribers.
COUNCILS OF ANTIOCH, ANCYKA, etc.
The following items are not without interest. The creed of
Antioch is not from the same manuscript as the lists of sub-
scribers at Ancyra, Csesarea, Gangra, Laodicea, and Antioch,
which are from No. 14,528, and are printed here for compari-
son with the JNTicene Catalogue of Fathers :
Confession of Faith of the first Council of Antioch, A.D. 251.
Confession of Faith of the Synod which assembled at Antioch
in the days of Gallienus the king, the heads of which were
Dionysius of Kome and Dionysius of Alexandria ; there was
also at it Gregory the miracle-worker.
"We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, who was of God and
the Father, who was begotten before the worlds of the Spirit,
but in the end of days, was born of a virgin in the flesh, is one
compound person of heavenly Deity and human flesh ; and
also in this, that he is man, wholly God and wholly man ;
wholly God and with a body, but not in this, that the flesh is
God ; and wholly man, and with man, and with Deity, but
not in this, that the Deity is man. So also wholly to be
worshipped, and with the body ; but not in this, that the
body is to be worshipped: wholly to be worshipped, and
with the Deity, but not in this, that the Deity is to be wor-
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 41
shipped ; wholly increate and with a body, but not in this, that
the body is increate ; wholly made and with the Deity, but
not in this, that the Deity is made ; wholly co-essential with
God, and with the body, but not in this, that the body is co-
essential with God, as not in this, that God is co-essential
with man, though with Deity in the flesh He is co-essential
with us. For also when we say that He being- in the Spirit is
a partaker of the nature of God, we say not that He in the
spirit is a partaker of the nature of man. And again, when
we declare Him in the flesh a partaker of the nature of man,
we declare him not in the flesh a partaker of the nature of
God. For as in the spirit he is not con-natural with us ; because
he is herein co-essential with God : so in the flesh he is not
con-natural with God, because he is partaker of our nature.
Now these things we correct and approve, not the dividing of
one person indivisible, but the unconfused peculiar confession
of the flesh and of the Deity." 43
Bishops who were assembled at the Synod op Ancyra.
Yitalius of Antioch of Syria.
Marcellus of Ancyra, Galatia.#
Agricolas of Cassarea, Cappadocia.
Lupus of Tarsus of Cilicia.
Basilius of Amas grmn Major (i. e. Amasea, of Armenia Major).
Philadelphus of Loliopolis of Galatla.# (Loliopolis is called
Juliopolis in the Nicene List. J
Eusiteles of Kicomedia of Bithynia.
Heraclius of Zela of Armenia Major.*
Peter of Iconium.
Nune chilis of Laodicea of Phrygia.#
Sergianus of Antioch of Pisidia.
Epidaurus of Perga of Pamphylia.
Narcissus of Neronias.#
* Names with an asterisk are also in the Nicene list,
42
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES,
Those who were at C^isarea (i
called afterwar
Vitalius of Antioch.
Sanctus.
Lupus of Tarsus.
Valentinus.
Leontius.*
Narcissus of Neronias.*
Basilius of Amasea.
Dicasius.*
Gregorius.*
Alpliius (comp. Ulpius.)*
,e. Neoccesarea, as it is
dsj
Longinus.*
Germanus.*
Heraclius of Zela.#
Gerontius.*
Amphion.*
Steplianus.#
Saadus.
Salaminius.
Erythrseus.*
Leontius.#
Those who were at Gangra.
Eusebius.* Eulalius.*
iElianus. Hypatius.
Eugenius.* Bassus.*
Olympius. Proseresius.
Bithynicus. Eugenius.*
Gregorius.# Heraclius.*
Philetus. Basilius.
Pappus.
Those who were at Laodicea.44
( The commencement of this list is lost.)
Of Palestine. Magnus of Damascus* of
Moses of Castabala*of Oilicia. Phoenicia.
Manicius of Hamath of Syria* iEneas of Accho of Phce-
Patricius. nicia.#
iEtherius. Anatolius of Emesa* of
Jacob of Nisibis of Syria.* Phoenicia.
Agapius of Seleucia* of Macedon of Mopsuestia* of
Isauria. Cilicia.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
43
Peter of Gindara of Syria. #
Corion (f) of Philadelphia.*
Theodotus,#
(Theodotus?)
Of various provinces :
Of Ccele Syria.
Those who were
Eusebius. (+)#
Theodorus.
Theodorus.*
Nicetas.#
Macedonius.*
Anatolius.*
Taracondamantus.#
iEtherius.*
Alphaeus (comp. Ulpius).
Mauricius.
Of Phoenicia.
Of Palestine.
Of Arabia.
Of Mesopotamia.
Of Oilicia.
Of Isauria.
AT ANTI0CH.
Hesychius.#
Manicius.*
Theodotus.*
Musseus.
Mucianus.
Magnus.*
Agapius.*
Archelaus.*
Bassus.*
Siricius.*
FRAGMENT : CONTAINING EXTRACTS FROM GREEK AUTHORS.
14618, fol. 25 b. etc.45
Statement of Philosophers concerning the soul,
Plato says :
" The life of the soul consists in the actions of the soul when
they are kept from wrong, so that nothing should attach to
them which can slay it (the life) : for, except it slayeth itself,
there is nothing that can slay it, because it is elevated and
above the body, and is among spiritual things ; neither can
that death which ruleth the body see it, for it is conceived
by it."
Theophrastus says :
" Very powerful is the soul, and weakness approaches it
t Called Cyrnon in Nicene list.
X A distinct declaration of assent to the decisions of the Council follows this
name, and a similar one comes after that of Theodorus.
44 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
not, except by its voluntary carelessness, and except it be
willing, nor are its treasures exhausted when its riches fail ;
nor is its life consumed, nor do its times fail, for it is not
transitory, nor dissoluble, and it is exalted above the earth,
and not very far from heaven."
Mendarus (i.e. Menander) says :
" Whenever the soul is free, honour is from it, and it hateth
those properties which impede it. The tongue sufficeth not
to open and give room to the utterances of its pure fountains
of the words of its wisdom, for it giveth and lacketh not, and
enricheth and groweth not poor, and maketh wise the ignorant,
and magnifieth the small : and the more it giveth of its own
it goes on increasing, and becomes richer and greater."
Critus (Orito ? ) says :
" The soul in everything is famous ; and after its cursory
life, the death of the body is far from it, and approacheth it
not, because it considereth and seeketh what is above death,
and death cannot come unto it, and therefore they are in pain
when separated from one another for a time."
Timachus (?) says :
" He that settleth his mind, that to nothing will he be per-
suaded, even if many wise, and writers, and scientific, and
doctors, set themselves to persuade him, he is not persuaded,
because he is persuaded of this only — that he will not be per-
suaded by man ; and as for them they become children unto
him. He also becomes unto them a stranger. Because of
its imperfect utterance, and not because it is not persuasive,
does wisdom perish to itself; for it perishes from him, and
he doth not perish from it."
Theocrides (Theocritus ?) says :
Very beautiful is this, that when man is grand in his
body, and holy in his person, he should have to come to the
labour of discipline and of learning, that his mind may become
unoccupied with odious thoughts, which hinder and disturb
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 45
instruction. And their words become illustrious when they
spring* from them as pleasant drink from a fountain which is
not troubled. For the desire of woman and the lust of wealth
are the treasures of want to fools and the stores of sins to
adulterers."
Eusahts (?) says :
" Men who know that they are mortal, to (supply) the need
of food, are compelled to labour for gold, which has an
appearance of yellow, and also causes its owners to possess its
colour in the time of their death, and they leave it here, and
it cannot enter Hades with them."
Alexander the King :
" He had taken captive the daughters of Darius. Now
they were of surpassing beauty ; and when it was told him of
them, he would not even consent to see them, saying : —
" ' It is odious in* warlike men to be set on fire by women
whom they have taken captive ; for as fire burns him that
touches it, so beauty inflames its beholders with lust.'
" Now this man's action agreed with our precept, that he
who sees a woman and lusts after her, has committed adultery
with her in his heart. For even if he is restrained from the
commission of adultery, and shall be delivered from the
guilt, he cannot be free from having desired her in his mind.
Now the end of the study of all those whom we mention, was
their stability in the nights of their patience (?). Let us see,
therefore, how they magnified the soul by their words — these
famous ones in wisdom — when they said it was superior to
death, and were anxious that a man should not neglect the
life of the soul, and were wishful that we should abandon the
uncertain hindrances of this world, and they taught that we
should not be negligent of comely behaviour.
" Let us, therefore, consider that the race of man is of few
days and of little joy ; that all their quiet and all their hap-
piness is for a short time and a few days, and their flower as
46 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
the grass which flourishes, and as the herb of the field which
fadeth away. Therefore the true and special care of men —
that is, if they are willing — is to regard what is above, and
not upon the earth, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of
God. Let us, therefore, have our thought above; for, as
when we rely upon what is beautiful in appearance, so shall
our conversation be in this world ; and let us fix our mind in
heaven, wherein is our true place, and wherein is the upper
Jerusalem, as the renowned of the men of our race have
written, who are blessed of God."
End. The discourse of the Philosophers. Glory to the
Trinity. Amen.i6
Pindarus says :
" I wonder at the race of men, who, when they abhor
odious things in words, run after them in deeds ; and when
they love things beautiful, flee from them as from things
hateful ; and it is not known how we may look on examples (?)
and not resemble them ; for they love what they hate and
hate what they love ; and that odious things are regarded as
beautiful by those who hate them, and beautiful things as
odious things by those who do them not.
Aristippus says :
" We greatly love victory in words without deeds, and this
is condemnation and not victory, for who can give victory to
him that is fallen ? and that showeth the back in battle ? or
who can withhold victory from the warrior who dies upon his
horse in the fight ? For not by words is the victory, as the
poor is not rich by words but by wealth."
Cartus (Critics ? ) says :
" Whatever a man loves, to himself the profit is great, even
if there is loss, and what he loveth not, to himself there is
loss, even if there is abundance. Now who can proceed
among troubled thoughts ? for the disturbed fluctuate, and
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 47
the pure mind can direct its gaze to the haven of rest in
which the shattered ships repose."
End. The Precept of Plato to his disciple.
For what is difficult in thy sight, 0 Caria, thee, my son, I
command, that even when thou sleepest thou shouldst not
cease from enquiring.
The disciple says :
" And how shall this be, for when I sleep I am like one dead ;
how shall I enquire when I sleep ?"
The master says :
" Give thy soul good and temperate habits in its acting, and
concentrate (?) it by enquiry and its communion with know-
ledge, and occupy it with noble thoughts, and exercise (?) it in
the understanding of the word of wisdom ; and thou shalt not
cause it to cease from thinking of the beautiful, and thou
shalt cause it to run again after fair enquiry, and urge it to
be full of the discoveries of wisdom, so that when thou fallest
to rest, thy understanding may be occupied (?) in the good
works of waking, and in -thy sleep the sweet odour shall exhale
within thy understanding, and thy tongue (?) shall utter a
voice from the voice of the meditation of thy waking, so that
thou shalt know how great is its power of investigation, that
even when the body sinks, good habits prevail above it.
Arouse thy senses, and say to thyself, that if thou wilt do what
I say to thee, thou shalt not be like them that sleep : for from
the oblivion which enters by sleep, behold thy heart is free
through the noble thoughts of thy waking ; and thou art not
like the dead, in that thou art not without the motion of
thoughts, and thou art different (?) from wakers, because if
thou dost not move, there is no action, and that which thy
heart devises in thy sleep thou canst not do.
" Faith is that thou affirm what is when thou hearest of it,
before thou see it.
" God is, what is not changed, and is always.
48 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
" Love is affection unsatisfied, and in trials is free in that
which is loved, and in prosperity burns with that which is
desired.
" Kighteousness is the beauty which a man shows to his
yokefellow.
" Equity is the mind which awards his own to every man,
and as to itself so to every man uses discretion."
End.
DIOCLES.— No. 1215S.47
The writing of Diodes the wise.
" Now there was after the division of tongues in the days of
Peleg, a certain man of the sons of Japhet, and he was called
Ag'ur (Agenor). This man went up from the east and came
and dwelt on the sea shore, and built a city and called the
name of it Ge'ur, which, in the Syrian tongue, is called
Tyre. And he had three sons, Syrus his first born, Cylicus
his second, and Punicus his third. Now Geur, their father,
reigned in Tyre 13 years, and when he died he divided the land
for his sons, and gave to Punicus, Phoenicia, and to Cylicus,
he gave Cilicia, and to Syrus he gave Syria.
" And in the time of Punicus was Heracles, a wise man,
and a mighty man of strength, for he was a mighty man
(or giant). He was amusing himself upon the sea-shore of
Tyre, and saw a certain shepherd's dog which had caught a
shellfish of the sea, called Conchylium, and was eating it, and
the mouth of the dog was dyed with the blood of the shell-
fish. And Heracles called to him the shepherd of the flock
and told him about the dog, and the shepherd at once brought
wool and wiped the mouth of the dog with it. And the shep-
herd made for himself of the wool a wreath and put it on his
head. And when the sun shone upon it Heracles saw the
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 49
wreath of wool that it was very splendid, and was astonished
at its beauty, and he took the wreath from the shepherd.
" And another day Heracles took the shepherd and the
dog, and went to the sea shore, and the dog saw a certain
shellfish as he went along, and the dog ran and caught it,
and Heracles snatched the shellfish from his mouth, and sent
the shepherd to go to his flock. And Heracles walked all
day upon the sea shore, and as soon as one of these shellfish
came out of the sea, he ran and caught it quickly, and he col-
lected 30 of them, and boiled them over the fire, and dyed white
wool with their blood. And he gave it to a certain woman
and she made him a robe of it, and he took and brought the
garment to Punicus, King of Tyre, and when he saw it he
marvelled at its beauty, and commanded that no other man
should wear it, except the King alone. Moreover, he gave to
Heracles authority to command for him, and wrote that he
was the Father of the Kingdom. And this Heracles taught
the dyeing of all beautiful colours, and showed and taught
men how pearls go up from the sea.
In those days there was a man in the west country and his
name was Romias, and he was a mighty man of strength ;
and in his days there was in the province of Cilicia a certain
virgin beautiful of countenance, and she was made a priestess
in the temple of Mars (Ares) the God. And when Eomias be-
held her, he longed for her, and went in unto her, and she con-
ceived by him : and when she perceived that she had con-
ceived by him she was in great fear, and kept herself, lest the
priests of Ares the God should be enraged with her and slay
her. And when she produced twins, their father took them
and gave them to a certain woman, and she reared them.
And when the children grew up and became men, their father
gave them names, to the one Romlaus and to the other
Romus, and they built the city of Rome and [ruled] it, and
all their subjects they called Romans, after the name of their
4
50 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
father : and for this cause are the sons of Rome called
Romans. And they bnilt the Capitol, which is interpreted
Head of the City, and it was one of the wonders of the whole
earth. And they brought a great image, which was in Hylas,
and went up and set it on the top of the Capitol, and it was a
great wonder, the like of which was not in the earth. And
they built the great demotion which is in Athens, and the
Philosophers call it the demosion of Wisdom.
And there happened a quarrel between the two brothers,
and Armelaus arose and slew Romus, his brother; and at
once the city began to quake. And when the sons of Rome
saw that their city quaked, they feared with great fear, and
all its inhabitants sought to flee from it. And when Romulus
saw that the sons of Rome were in commotion, he entered the
temple of the goddess Pythonia, asking her to reveal to him
why the city trembled ; and she replied, '• Because thou didst
murder thy brother the city trembles and laments, for he built
it with thee, and it will not cease quaking till it sees thy bro-
ther sit with thee on the throne of the kingdom, and com-
mand, and write, and summon with thee as before." And
when this saying was heard in all the city, they met to stone
Romlaus with stones, because he slew his brother. And he
fled from them and went up to Athens ; and when Punitus,
the philosopher, heard it, he came and heard the words of
Romlaus, and he promised him that if he would write Athens
free, that the King of the Romans had no authority over it,
he would go to Rome and pacify the sons of the city and
their forces. And he confirmed this covenant which he made
with him. And Punitus went to Rome, and talked with them,
and said to them, " If ye receive your king in peace, this
trembling will at once cease from your city, and it will quake
no more ; but if ye will not receive him, all your city will be
destroyed." And at once the sons of Rome all met, and went
up after their king to Athens, and when they arrived and came
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 51
and reached Rome all the city went out to meet him. And
they answered and said to him, " If thou knowest that at thy
entering onr city the quaking will cease from it, come, enter
with pomp and glory, and sit on the throne of thy kingdom ;
but if the trembling does not cease from us, thou shalt not
enter." Now he promised them that the quaking should cease
from the city. And this philosopher made an image of gold,
like his brother, and set it with him upon the throne of his
kingdom, and bade them that everything should be done and
written as from the mouth of both of them. And they did
so, and at once the trembling ceased from their city, and this
quaking ceased by the wisdom of this man, and its inhabitants
were at peace with their king. Hence the Romans took for a
custom to write and command, " We say," " We command."
And from that time Athens received its freedom, that the
king had no authority over it, to do in it anything by force.
And this Romulus introduced equestrian representations (?)
of pleasure, and he introduced gladiators (?) (martios), and he
first introduced Veneti and Prasii, because he was afraid of
the sons [of the Romans that] they might kill him as he had
killed his brother. He first set up two men who were hostile
to one another, one from the Veneti and one from the Prasii,
and said, ' If the Veneti conspire against me, the Prasii will
inform me : and if the Prasii conspire against me, the Veneti
will let me know.' He [therefore set] two men before [an
assembly] of the city as for pleasure, and clothed one in the
Venetian clothing of the sea (i.e. blue) and the other in cloth-
ing of Prasian (i.e. green) like the grass of the earth. And
he said if the one clothed in Venetian (blue) conquers, the sea
will be quiet and the barbarians will not enter and get autho-
rity in the islands of the sea, because those who dwell in the
sea gain the victory and those who dwell on the dry land are
conquered. But if he that is clothed in Prasian (green) con-
quers, those who dwell in the dry land conquer and defeat
0« SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
those who dwell in the water. And as soon as these two men
come together to fight one with another, those who dwelt in
the sea prayed that the Venetian might conquer ; and those
who dwelt on the land, that the Prasian might conquer. And
from that time till now there have been these two factions of
the kingdom of the Romans, the Venetian and the Prasian.
And Armelaus instituted the Brumalia, because he was a
man fond of teaching, and fond of amusement, and fond of
youth. And he commanded that, in the days of winter, men
should invite one another, and many meeting together with
one, and eating and drinking, should take their pleasure. And
he ordered that every one of the letters of the alphabet should
go in one after another, and every one of them should be in-
vited on its day. And they called them Brumalia, which
is interpreted in the Greek tongue, 'let us eat and drink
what is others' (aXXorpiocpdyot) that is ' for nothing' (gratis).
''And [he instituted the] rank of nobility at Rome: and
gave the free born great honour of position and authority,
that they might command and be obeyed. And he appointed
that there should be heralds in the kingdom of the Romans,
—that is, that there should be ministers in the palace. And
he sent to Athens and brought thence Gelasus, and Lathrus,
the Philosophers, and he made for them an organ, that they
might be amused with sweet sounds. And Armelaus insti-
tuted the stadium, and commanded that when the sons of
Rome fought at the Capitol, children should be let down by
a rope from the top of the Capitol, sitting upon a wheel, and
holding out a crown for the kingdom (? to the victor, or
a kingly crown), as came down to Nimrod the mighty
man a crown, and that the kings should give gifts to these
children when they returned and went up. Moreover, he
appointed that the Romans should receive spoils (capla), in
order that they might be supported all winter ; and that in
summer they might go forth to war against their enemies.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 53
And he appointed and instituted augurs to convey and bring
the response to (of) the Molosii from the hosts. Now the
day on which the Romans go forth to war, they call Mars
(Martius) which signifies victory. And [Armelaus] made and
established at Rome great wonders, and various undertakings,
and fair laws, and righteous ordinances. There was not
among all the Romans a man who excelled in all knowledge
and wisdom like him, or that more honoured those who have
understanding. Therefore he was rich in his intellect, so
that by its appearance and speech he would discern the evil
from the good, and the false from the true
EXTRACTS FROM CHRISTIAN AUTHORS.
Ignatius.— 14533, fol. 33.48
Now Ignatius, who was in truth God-clad (Theophorus)
and Martyr, who saw mysteries unutterable, that is to say
by any other man, as also he signifies and says of himself,
and apprehended with a humble mind.
" For I also, not by this that I am bound, can understand
heavenly things, and angelic positions, and the ranks of prin-
cipalities, visible and invisible : therefore, behold, I am a
disciple."
When he wrote to those in Magnesia, he said thus :
" For the divine prophets lived in Jesus Christ. Therefore,
also, they were persecuted, for by his grace they were in-
spired, that they might be persuaded who were not persuaded
that there is one God who revealed himself through Jesus
Christ his son."
And after a little : —
" How can we live apart from him, whom also the prophets
being his disciples in the Spirit, expected as a teacher ? And,
54 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
therefore, he whom, they righteously expected, when he came,
raised them from the dead."
" Thou seest that they, who like the prophets, lived in Jesus
Christ, that is in righteousness (were) pious doers, through
the descent of our Kedeemer to Sheol were profited, many
of whose bodies arose and appeared for the confirmation only
of the power of Him that descended to the lowest places of
the earth as I said, and it was not the reward of the resur-
rection which is promised to all together in the day of
righteous recompense."
And after other things :
" For on this account, also, was he preached to the dead
also, that they might be judged, indeed, in the flesh as men,
but live in God in the spirit. For not to the righteous but to
sinners especially, and to those who went down in transgres-
sion was the Gospel preached, that they might judge them-
selves, pronouncing sentence upon their own soul humanly,
and judging the flesh, and by the words of repentance
subjugating and delivering their soul from the divine judg-
ment, because, also, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God. In order that they might be judged, in-
deed, in the flesh as men ; now this is as a man when he
spares his soul, will judge himself: but they shall live in
God in the Spirit."
Of the same, from the Epistle to A?iastasia, a Deaconness,
of which the beginning is :
" Because thou walkest in the way of righteousness.
"Then, that we should suppose that those who arose then
at the time of our Redeemer's crucifixion, remained until this
day, the saying of the Gospel does not permit, indicating
plainly that they went to the Holy city, and appeared unto
many. For this, that they appeared, showeth plainly an ap-
pearance for a certain time, for the belief, as we said, of the
power of our Eedeemer who broke the gates of brass and the
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 55
invincible bars of iron, of those which are beneath the earth.
When, therefore, they had showed themselves who arose,
again they laid down the bodies, and returned to their places,
awaiting that resurrection which is common, and expected by
every man."
Bardesanes — 14,658.49
Names of the Molossi (Signs of the Zodiac) according to
Bardesanes.
1
The Lamb
7
The Balance.
2
The Bull.
8
The Scorpion.
3
The two Images.
9
The Great Image
4
The Crab.
10
The Goat.
5
The Lion.
11
The Bucket.
6
The Ear of Corn.
12
The Fishes.
HlPPOLYTUS
,50
Of Hippolytus, Bishop and Martyr, from the Discourse
upon the Resurrection to Mammea, the Queen : she was
the mother of Alexander, who was at that time Emperor
of the Romans.
u The origin of the heresy of the Nicolaitans. Now this
was Nicolas, one of those deacons who were chosen at the
beginning, as he makes known in the Acts. This man first
introduced this way, being moved by a strange spirit, saying
that there had been a resurrection to him, for he thought
this, that the resurrection was that we should believe in
"Christ, and be washed, but he denied a resurrection of the
flesh. Since from him many took occasion, heresies they set
up, but especially arose from them those who are called
Gnostics, of whom were Hymenseus and Philetus, concerning
whom the Apostle wrote, saying : ' They say that the resur-
rection has already happened, and overthrow the faith of
many.' "
56 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
And after a little :
" Now, when there was great commotion, and abundance
of dissensions at Corinth, at that time the Apostle was himself
troubled, being anxious to return an answer to those who
brought in false knowledge, and called in question the resur-
rection of the flesh ; or to those who introduced the practice
of the law, and wished to exclude the grace which is in Christ,
which abounded among the Gentiles. And again, ' because
we have the treasure in an earthen vessel, that the greatness
of the power may be of God, and not from us.' "
And again :
" Now, what is our mortal flesh but those vessels before
named, wherein, while the treasure of incorruptibility is de-
posited, it also makes incorruptible [ones for] the body, when
(there is) faith in Christ, whom God raised from the dead
when he became the first fruits of all, the flesh of our resur-
rection."
Clemens Komanus.51
For holy Clement, Bishop of Rome, and a disciple of the
Apostles, teacheth in the Epistle to the Corinthians thus :
"Who is among you therefore that is strong? Who is
compassionate and full of love, let him say, ' If because of me
there is disturbance, and contention, and schism, I will go
whither ye wish, and I will do what is commanded of many,
only let the flock of Christ have peace with the elders who
preside over it.'
" [If, therefore, Paul is compassionate, and is a possessor
of love, since on his account only there is disturbance, let him
do what is commanded of many, according to the determina-
tion of this man and elder ; and let him cease from this, that
he should be chief, even if they be unwilling who adhere to
him.]
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 57
Of holy Clement, chief of the Bishops, (Archbishop) of
Rome, and martyr, concerning whom, says Ensebins, in the
third of the Ecclesiastical Histories, that he was after Ana-
cletns, who was after Linns, who was Bishop there. Now
Linns was Bishop of Rome after Peter, chief of the Apostles.
From the second Epistle to the Corinthians, of which the
beginning is —
" My brethren, thus it behoveth ns to think of Christ Jesus
as of God, as of the Judge of the living and the dead.
" And let no man of you say that this flesh is not to be
judged and not to rise. Know ye wherein ye are redeemed,
wherein ye live, if it is not while ye are in this flesh 1 There-
fore it behoveth you, that as the temple of God ye should
guard the flesh. For as while ye are in the flesh ye were
called, also in the body shall ye come. If Christ is the Lord,
who redeemed us, who was at first indeed Spirit, but became
flesh, and so called us, so we also in this flesh shall receive a
reward."
Clemens Alexandrinus.52
What heresy is. Of Clemens Stromateus. The end of the
eighth book.
" Heresy is a turning aside in doctrine, or, according to some,
a turning aside in many doctrines, which adheres to one after
another, and restrains those which seem to tend to this, that one
may live well. Doctrine, indeed, is a certain rational appre-
hension, but apprehension is a habit and consent of the mind.
Not only the ephectics (sceptics), but every man of doctrine,
is wont to make some reserve, either through weakness of
mind, or through the obscurity of the fact, or through the
equal force of arguments."
Origen.— 12154, fol. 33 b.53
Another Scholium, by 0 rig en.
"It is necessary to enquire why the Psalms are 150. Be-
58 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
cause the number 50 is sacerdotal in the number of days
And this is known from Pentecost, which is very famous,
showing* a cessation of labours, and rest and joy. And, there-
fore, we are commanded in these days not to fast nor to kneel.
For of this it was a type and shadow also in the law again,
that at that time the people of the sons of Israel kept a
festival. Moreover, in the years of what is called the Jubilee
among the Hebrews, this number of 50 was very great and
excellent, wherein they had seven times seven, and wherein
was a freedom of servants and remission of debts, and rest of
the land from tillage, and the restoration of lands and fields
and houses and other things, which had happened to be sold
by their owners through some worldly want. The holy
Gospel also makes known a remission of fifty, and a like
number in the number to this and resembling it ; now I mean
500, for not for nothing was remission given of 50 pence and
of 500. Thus, therefore, God's praises, which were for the
rebuke of enemies and the reception of grace, which is to the
helpers of God, it behoves thee to hold, not in one number of
fifty but three, in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost. Now the holding of one number of
fifty and of seven times seven, as we read, and a week of
weeks, and also the beginning, which is after perfect weeks,
is the number of eight, which showeth truly the new rest
after the end of the world and the resurrection."
End.
Dionysius Alexandeinus.54
As holy Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, commanded in
an epistle to Novatus, for since he said, " Not by my will
are men divided," he wrote to him thus :
" If, as thou say est, thou hast not come to this by thy own
will, show that thou removest of thy own accord, for it be-
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 59
hoves thee to bear everything for this, that the Church of
God should not be divided. And this martyrdom, that a
man will not divide the church, is not less honour to him
than that a man will not worship idols ; but, as I say, it is
even greater than that, for he is a martyr for himself. But
now if thou persuadest and constrainest thy brethren to come
to unanimity, thy victory is greater than thy sin, and that
sin is not to be condemned, but this victory to be praised.
But if thou canst not persuade them, deliver thy own soul."
[Therefore by all means it behoveth Paul to cease from this,
that he should be chief, that the Church of God may not be
rent because of him ; and should restrain those who follow
him, that they may not be schismatic, because it is a greater
evil than any evil for the church to be divided].
John of Jerusalem.55
Of holy John, Bishop of Jerusalem, in whose days was found
the body of Stephen the Martyr.
" Now those who say that when he was scourged with whips,
he was not in pain, or that when he was crucified he did not
suffer, while the nails were fastened in him, as heretics we
anathematise. Now we acknowledge that he truly suffered
for our sins, and that his body was buried when it was with-
out the soul, and that he arose truly from the dead the third
day, and after the resurrection ate and drank together with
his disciples truly and not in appearance only, and that he
ascended to heaven, and is about to come at the end of the
world, to judge the living and the dead; and that he will
raise all the race of men from the dead, who will have the
same nature of bodies, wherein when they died they were
buried : but it is manifest that [they will be] incorruptible,
as his own body was when he rose from the dead."
60 syrian miscellanies,
Methodius.58
Of holy Methodius.
For a resurrection is spoken of that which falls and rises
again, and not of that which falleth not.#
Eustathius.57
From the Epistle, " a multitude of ranks."
For Eustathius, who was the pious pastor of Antioch, in
the discourse against Photinus, that is to say Murinus, when
he had before showed, that the Person of the Word is one,
and his nature another, taught that the nature appears in
three persons, to which your investigation before alleged
adheres, which would leave the nature in a mere appellation,
because he says that this is manifest in others, and that the
beautiful Word of the Father is his Sister in part.
Of holy Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch, from the discourse
against Photinus, that is to say Murinus.
"The name of God, therefore, if it be indeed intelligible, is
of a person. When we say three persons, by all means also,
they say, there are three Gods. Now because it shows that
there is a nature, when from its own something above nature
has been taken ; as of a man indeed laughter, of a dog bark-
ing, but they are called properties of natures, exhibiting the
natures. We do not say three Gods, because we do not say
three natures."
And again :
" For one is the Person indeed, but the nature another. If,
therefore, the person had been God, when we say three per-
sons, by all means we say there are three Gods. Now, since
we say that the nature of the person is one, of necessity we
say that there is only one God."
* Cf. Tert, De Resur. 18.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 01
Justin Martyr,— Add. MBS., 14,609.58
Justin, one of the anthors who were in the days of
Augustus, and Tiberius and Gaius, wrote in his third
discourse.
That Mary, the Galilean, who was the mother of Christ
who was crucified in Jerusalem, had not been with a husband,
And Joseph did not repudiate her, but Joseph continued in
holiness without a wife, he and his five sons by a former wife ;
and Mary continued without a husband.
Theodorus.59
Theodoras wrote to Pilate, the governor, "Who is the man,
that reproach falls upon him before thee, that he should be
crucified by the sons of Palestine ? If they righteously desire
to do this, why dost thou not assent to their righteousness ?
But if they seek to do this unrighteously, why hast thou
transgressed the law, and commanded what is far from
righteousness?" Pilate sent to him, " Because he had done
signs, I was unwilling to crucify him ; but his accusers said
he called himself king, and was a deceiver."
Josephus.60
Josephus says that Agrippa, the king, being clothed in a
robe adorned with silver, also saw a vision in the theatre of
Csesarea. When the people saw his clothes flashing, they said
to him, " Hitherto as a man we have reverenced thee, hence-
forth thou art above the nature of mortals ! " And he saw an
angel which stood above him and smote him unto death.
George, an Arabian Bishop.61
From the Reply to the nine questions of Jesus Habishi (the
recluse), a Presbyter of the town of Banab.
Chap. 1. Of a man who was called the wise Persian (or
62 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Persian philosopher), who also wrote a book of epistles upon
various matters. Who this wise Persian was ; that is, what
his honour or degree in ecclesiastical order was, or what his
name or place of abode, we cannot confidently say, for he
does not show us these things, or one of them in any place of
his book which he wrote, nor elsewhere have we yet found
it written, nor do we learn these things from any one who
knows them particularly. However, as it seems to me and
every lover of truth, we ought not to say and utter, as it
happens, what we are not certainly persuaded of, and can give
scarcely any proofs of. Now that he was a man of penetrat-
ing genius, and that the sacerdotal writings (Scriptures) were
read and honoured by him as much as possible, his work
shows. Moreover, that he was a coenobite and reckoned with
the church clergy, may be known from his expressions.
That he was a coenobite he shows in the epistle entitled a
" Demonstration of the Sons of the Covenant," for thus were
coenobites called then, as well as monks. Herein he writes
thus : " Therefore this counsel is fair, and just, and good,
which I give myself and you my beloved, that we monks
receive not women, and virgins who have no husbands, for
those who love holiness, it is right and just and comely, that
even if it be by constraint, a man should be alone, and so it
becometh him to abide ; as it is written by Jeremiah, the
prophet, that it is well for a man to bear thy yoke in his
youth, and sit alone and be silent, because he taketh thy
yoke upon him. For so my beloved, it becomes him that
bears the yoke of Christ, to keep his yoke in purity." This
shows that the man was a coenobite, who was called the wise
Persian. That he was ranked with the clergy of the church,
as I imagine those things show which are written in the
beginning of the Epistle or Demonstration which is inscribed,
" Concerning the strife and divisions which occur in divers
places, because of glorying and haughtiness, and concerning
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 63
struggles about the headship/' where we have it thus : " Let us
all receive reason when Ave meet, that we may write this
epistle to all our brethren the sons of the church in clivers
places : we the Bishops, and presbyters and deacons, and all
the Church of God, with all its offspring in divers places with
us : to our dear and beloved brethren the Bishops, presbyters,
and deacons, with all the offspring of the church that is with
you, and all the people of God in Salec (Seleucia) and
Ctesiphon, and in divers places, in our Lord, our God, and
our Life Giver, who by his Christ hath quickened us and
brought us to himself, great peace !" Behold he hereby shows
that he was reckoned with the clergy, as we said.
But where was he ? In the city of Nisibis, as is said by
some, or in another part of those provinces, he has not at all
shown us. But what thy brotherhood has written, that some
say he was a disciple of the blessed Mar Ephraim, is false, for
the form of his teaching is not like holy Mar Ephraim : nor
does the difference of the times of their teaching permit us to
say this, for he that is called the wise Persian was famous as
a teacher in the year 648 of the Greeks, of Alexander, as he
calls them. Moreover, in the year 655 and 606 of the
Greeks ; for he wrote in the epistle entitled " Demonstration of
Death and the Last Times," thus : "These twenty-two discourses
I wrote upon the twenty-two letters. I wrote the ten former
in the year 648 of the kingdom of Alexander, son of Philip,
the Macedonian, as is written at their close ; and the twelve
latter I wrote in the year 655, of the kingdom of the Greeks
and Romans, which is the kingdom of Alexander, and in the
year 35 of Shabor, king of Persia." Again, in the epistle
entitled " Demonstration upon the Cluster," he says thus : " I
wrote thee this epistle, my beloved, in the month Ab, of the
year 656 of the kingdom of Alexander, son of Philip, the
Macedonian, and in the year 36 of Shabor, the Persian king,
who made the persecution in the year 5, when the churches
64 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
were overthrown ; in the year there was a great destruction
of martyrs in the east country, after I wrote thee these twenty-
two heads (chapters), which I composed upon the letters one
after another."
The year 648, in which he says he wrote and finished the
ten former discourses, was the twelfth year after the Holy
Synod at the city of Nicea, that is the first year after the
pious decease of the faithful King Constantine. For the
holy Synod at Nicea, met, as church histories show, in the
year 636 of the Greeks, and in the twentieth year in part of
Constantine's own reign. Constantine reigned in all thirty-one
years : when, therefore, we deduct 636 years from 648, there
remain twelve years as we said. When again we subtract the
twenty years when the Synod met at Nicea, we have eleven
remaining : which is one year before the writer finished the ten
former discourses. If, therefore, it was the twelfth year after
the Synod at Nicea, and one year after the decease of Con-
stantine the King, when this Persian writer wrote and
finished these first discourses, it is clear that it was before the
year 648 : that is, in the years of the life of King Constantine
he wrote these discourses. This is also to be known from
hence : the twelve latter discourses, which he wrote afterwards,
he made after seven other years, for he wrote as we above set
down, thus : I wrote these twenty-two discourses upon
the twenty-two letters. I wrote the ten first in the year
648 of the Kingdom of Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon,
as is written at their conclusion; and the twelve last I
wrote in the year 655 of the kingdom of the Greeks and
Komans, which is the kingdom of Alexander. When,
therefore, we deduct 648 years from 655 years, seven
years remain as we said ; and when we add to these seven,
one year in which he made the discourse upon the Cluster,
the year 656 as he says, there become eight years, in which
he made the thirteen last discourses. Altogether, from
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 65
the Synod of Nicea to the year 656, are 20 years. So that
the times in which this Persian author wrote we find as far as
possible by his book, before which, and especially before the
year 648, we never find that Mar Ephraim taught or wrote,
so that we should say he was before this Persian writer, and
that he was his teacher or instructor.
Moreover, the times in which the blessed Mar Ephraim
was famous as a writer, may be found from hence : for
Theodorit, of Cyrus, wrote in chapter 31, of Book 2, of his
Church history, when he speaks of Shabor the king, and the
host of the Persians, that they came and made war against
Nisibis, thus, " Then the admirable Ephraim was a wise
writer, and was illustrious among the Syrians. The blessed
Jacob, Bishop of the city, sought from him, that he would go
up to the wall and see the barbarians, and cast upon them
arrows and curses." Now this war happened in the time of
Constantius the son of Constantine, a little before the end of
the life of Constantius, as also is to be proved by the histories
of the same from Chapter 29 of Book IV., when he speaks of
the time of Valens the King. At that time were famous,
Ephraim, the illustrious, in Urhi, and Didymus, in Alexandria,
who wrote against the doctrines contrary to the truth. Now
this period was near the end, in part of the life of Valens, as
is to be seen by the histories. Therefore passing over what
intervenes because of the length of the account, we find by
comparison as far as possible, that it was nearly 50 years from
the former period in which this Persian author wrote the
12 first discourses, to the time when the blessed Mar Ephraim
wrote against the doctrines, that is after the Persians took
Nisibis, and he left it and came to Urhi. In this way we
assume that the Persian author wrote the ten first discourses
in the eight years before the decease of the faithful King
Constantine. When we take these eight years, and add
twenty-five years which Constantius reigned, and three of
66 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Julian and Jovinian, with fourteen from King Valens, they
amount to fifty years as we said.
How long each of the Kings named reigned, is known
thus : Socrates wrote in Chapter 40, Book I., of his Ecclesias-
tical History, thus : " Constantine the King lived sixty-five
years, of which he reigned thirty-one years." The same,
from Chapter 4-5, Book II. : " Constantius lived forty-five
years, of which he reigned twenty-eight ; three along with his
father, and after his father's death twenty-five years." The
same, from Chapter 16, Book III. : " Julian, therefore, in his
fourth consulship, which he shared with Sallust, in the 2oth
of the month Thamuz, died in the land of the Persians, as I
said above." Now this year was the third in a part of his
reign. The same from Chapter 20, Book III., speaking of Jovi-
nian the King : " In the place, therefore, above named, in the
season of winter, he fell ill of a disease of his loins and
died, in his own consulship and that of Varonianus his son, in
the 17th of the month Shabet, when he had reigned seven
months, and lived thirty-three years. Now there is in this
third book, a period of three years and two months. The
same from Chapter 35, Book IV., speaking of Valens the
King, " He lived fifty years, having reigned with his brother
Valentinian thirteen years, and three years after his death."
Since, then, there is a space of fifty years from the instruction
of doctrine by the Persian author, to the time of the teaching
of doctrine by the blessed Mar Ephraim, how can one say
that the Persian author was the disciple of Mar Ephraim t
It does not appear that this is true, as the examination which
we have made above shows. And even if, at some part of
the time, holy Mar Ephraim was contemporary with the Per-
sian writer, probably Mar Ephraim was a youth in life and
doctrine, and the Persian writer sufficiently advanced in
years. Therefore, of him that is called the wise Persian we
know not either his name or rank or place of abode ; but yet
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 07
he was a coenobite, who was ranked with the Clergy of the
Church, and he was not the disciple of the blessed Mar
Ephraim. Thus in brief.
Chap. 2. On this that the Persian writer saith, that on the
accomplishment of 6000 years this world will come to an end.
As to what thy fraternity wrote, that the Persian writer says,
that when 6000 years are fulfilled the end of the world will
take place, I wish thee to know that many other Christians
since the coming of Christ have held this opinion, as their
language shows. Omitting these, on account of their num-
ber, let us come to a few of them for the confirmation of our
savins*. Bardesan, therefore, an ancient man, and famous in
the knowledge of things, in a certain dissertation made by him
on the conjunctions of the luminaries of heaven one with an-
other, says thus : " two circuits of Cronos are 60 years," etc.
Holy Hippolytus also, bishop and martyr, wrote thus in the
discourse upon the prophet Daniel : " For the first coming of
our Lord in the flesh at Bethlehem was in the days of Au-
gustus, in the year of the world 5500, and he suffered in the
year 33 after his nativity," etc.
To this we shall add holy Mar Jacob, the teacher, who
expresses the same opinion, in the sixth of the discourses made
by him upon " the six days, writing thus," etc.
Similarly, also, the Persian writer, for he says in the Essay
upon Love, as thy fraternity also wrote, thus : " Be not
grieved, my beloved, at the word which I write unto thee,"
etc.
Chap. 3. On what the Persian writer saith, that when
men die, the spiritual soul [literally : natural or psychical
soul] is hidden within the body, etc.
In the Essay upon the Cluster, he says : " Noah lived till
the 58th year of the life of Abraham, and that he was in Ur
of the Chaldees, and there died and was buried." He says
also that Shem lived till the 52nd year of the life of Jacob.
68 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Know, therefore, oh lover of instruction, that according to the
tradition of the Scriptures of the Jews, this writer makes all
his calculations, and not according to the exposition of the
LXX., nor according to the tradition of the Samaritans, as
also thou didst write before ; but thou after the tradition to
which the version of the LXX. adheres and consents, and
especially in the account of the years of the Patriarchs, be-
cause wise authors testify that it is rather true than the others.
From Adam to the Deluge thou holdest 2242 years, and from
the Deluge to Abraham 943 years, and from Adam to Abraham
3185. From Abraham to the Exodus of Israel from Egypt
515 years, and from the Exodus to the commencement of
building the Temple 480 years, as is written in the book of
Kings [1 Kings, vi. 1], From the commencement of build-
ing the Temple to its burning by Nebuchadnezzar 441 years,
and from the burning of the Temple to the commencement of
the years of the Greeks 280 years. The total from Adam to
the commencement of the years of the Greeks were 4901
years ; and from Adam to this year 1025 of the Greeks [a.d.
714] there are 5926 years, being 74 years short of 6000.
Now, not to leave unanswered the question, Why Noah did
not admonish those of his time not to worship the image of
Cainan, the son of Arphaxad ? nor Shem those of his genera-
tion not to serve idols ? We answer it briefly. Because of
the liberty and domestic authority which God conceded to the
race of men, — which, if it would, sinned ; and, if it would,
was righteous. It was on this account also, in the 100 years
before the Flood, when they saw Noah planting and cutting
down cedars, and making an ark as for deliverance, that they
repented not and returned from their evil at that time, but
were eating and drinking, taking wives and giving to husbands,
till the Flood came and destroyed them all, according to the
word of the Lord. Again, after the Flood, neither that Cainan,
who, as has been said, was a great and wicked sorcerer, and
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. b\)
was therefore deified ; nor all those in the times of Noah and
of Shem were persuaded to refrain from their evil, if, indeed,
they were warned by them. For they say well, that in the
days of Serug men began to make images and to worship
idols. If this is true, neither Noah nor his son Shem attained
to that period which reaches from the Deluge to the time of
Serug. It is known that, according to the version of the
LXX., if the 130 years of Cainan are taken, there are 794.
Now Noah lived after the Flood 330 years, 444 (464?) years
less than 794. Shem lived after the Deluge 50 (300 ?) years,
being 494 years less than the 794 years to Serug.
Chap. 4. On the reception of heretics.
Chap. o. On Gregory, the bishop, who taught the Armenians.
0 lover of learning, Gregory, who taught the Armenians,
as may be known from the words of the history about him,
was by race a Roman, who came while he was a youth to the
country of Armenia, either because of the persecution which
Diocletian raised against the Christians, or for some other
reason which we know not. And when he was educated in
Armenia, and learned its letters and its tongue, his name
spread and was famous, until he was of the attendants and
domestics of King Tiridates, who then reigned over the pro-
vinces of Armenia, and this while he held his Christianity,
and was not known except by a few, through whom it was
made known to the King Tiridates. And he called Gregory
to him, and asked him, and learned of him that it was soft
And he used towards him blandishments and threateuings
and various tortures, that he might be turned from his Chris-
tianity, and he would not. At last he took and cast him into
a certain pit which was full of deadly reptiles and corrup-
tion (?) After he had been thirteen years in the pit, as his
history says, but we, if you please, will put three years
only, the King went out for pleasure and the hunting of wild
beasts, when God suddenly sent an evil spirit upon him, and
70 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
he was mad and went out of his mind and gnawed his own
flesh. And he remembered the holy man, through the solici-
tude of his wife, and sent and brought him up out of the pit,
and he prayed over him and he was healed. When this took
place, by command of the King and the solicitude of the holy
man, the provinces of Armenia came to Christianity. Then,
because on all accounts bishops were needed, the King called
some of his honourable men and committed to them Gregory,
and sent them to Leontius, bishop and metropolitan of Csesarea,
a city in Cappadocia, that he might appoint Gregory bishop.
He having received the men, and done what they desired,
dismissed them in peace and joy. Therefore, when the holy
man had authority in the provinces of Armenia, he built
churches and convents with the order of the King and the zeal
of his nobles. And he appointed and set in them presbyters
and deacons, giving them also laws and rules as seemed good
to him. Afterwards, when the holy Synod met at Nicea, he
also went up to the Synod, with holy Leontius, who made
him Bishop. This is the simple and summary history of
Gregory, the instructor of the Armenians.
Now we think it needful for the further confirmation of our
account, to set down a few words from the history of this
man, to this effect. "When Diocletian held the government of
the Eomans, Tiridates was holding the government of the
Parthians and Armenians. Tiridates was informed that in his
palace there was a certain man whose name was Gregory,
who feared not his gods, but was of the religion of the
Christians. Having summoned him, he thought by many
blandishments to move him.
And a little after, then the king began to say to him,
"Thou earnest unto us a stranger and without a country,
and thou hast been thought worthy by us of honour and
great glory. How now darest thou reverence a God whom
I do not venerate ?"
8YKIAN MISCELLANIES. 71
And much further on : " Now the blessed one remained in
the pit of noisome reptiles wherein he fell, thirteen years,
being preserved from the noxious reptiles by the grace of
God."
And further on : " And the king commanded his host to
be assembled, that he might go out hunting. When this was
done, and the chariots were yoked, and he went up to sit
upon the chariot of his kingdom, the wrath of God was sent
upon him, and an e^il spirit smote him, and he was thrown
from his chariot upon his face to the ground, and began to be
mad, and to bite and devour his flesh with his teeth."
And further on : " Now the holy Gregory bent his knees
upon the ground, and prayed to Almighty God to give
health to the king. And behold, a voice from heaven was
heard by him, saying, ' Gregory, be strong and manly, for I
am with thee to the end. Thou shalt build to me churches,
and shalt erect to me a house for the dwelling of my saints,
and lift up their horn. And for this that thou hast prayed
before me, lo, I have heard thee, and lo, 1 grant thee the
request thou hast asked of me.' And when this was said to
the saint, he turned to the king and touched his hands and his
feet, and restored him to the stable nature of men by the
power of our Lord Jesus Christ."
And again after other things : " Now when the king heard
he rejoiced and glorified God; and commanded that those
who were famous, and the elders, among the satraps and
nobles, should assemble, and go with blessed Gregory to the
country of Cappadocia, to the city of Csesarea, that the
blessed one might forthwith receive the sacerdotal degree,
and return to the land of Armenia. And after they went and
entered Csesarea, they appeared before the blessed Leontius,
the bishop there, and when these things were told him, he
made Gregory a bishop, having assembled and brought to
him the bishops who were under his hands."
72 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
So much, in brief, from the long history of Gregory, we
have here set down.
Now that he was one of the 318 bishops at the Synod of
Nicea, is known by the Acts of the Synod, wherein it is
written also of Leontius, of Csesarea, of Cappadocia, that
he was convened at the Synod. Holy Gregory Theologus
also attests this of Leontius, for in the discourse upon the
funeral of his father, he says, " That when the great Leontius
passed through Arianzi to go to Nicea against the madness of
Arius, he taught his father, and baptized him and made him a
Christian."
Since these things are said of Gregory the Armenian, the
time is also known wherein he was. Moreover, this also is
known as we think, that he was not one of the three holy
Gregories, we mean Gregory the miracle-worker (Thauma-
turgus), the bishop of Nysa and the Divine (Theologus). His
time was more recent than the Thaumaturgus, but older than
of the other two. Thus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, who was
bishop of Neocsesarea, a city in the country of Pontus, was
famous in the time of King Aurelian, and was one of the
bishops that met in the city of Antioch against Paul of
Samosata ; and Eusebius shows this, saying in Chapter 27 of
Book VII., of his Church History ; " The pastors who were in
other churches, assembled from every place, because of this
wolf, the destroyer of the flock of Christ. And all of them
were assembled and met in the city of Antioch. Among
these were especially celebrated, Firmilian of Csesarea, of
Cappadocia, Gregory and Theodorus (Athenodorus ?) who
were brothers and pastors of the Churches of Pontus : and
Helenus of the Church of Tarsus ; and Nicomas of Iconium ;
and Hymenseus of the Church of Jerusalem ; Theotecnus of
Csesarea of Palestine ; Maximus, who gloriously conducted
the brethren at Bostra ; and many others whom no man could
number."
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 73
From chapter 28 : " When Gallienus had stood in the
government fifteen years, Clandins arose one year. After
him Anrelian received the kingdom, in whose days met many
bishops at a Synod at Antioch, and the strange doctrine of
Paul, who was chief of that evil heresy, was made known and
contemned by every man expressly."
Now from Aurelian the king, and the Synod which expelled
Paul the Samosatene, to the faithful King Constantine and
the Synod at Nicea, were fifty-five years. Thus, Aurelian
reigned six years ; Taticus (Tacitus), six months ; Probus, six
years ; Corus (Carus) and his sons, two years ; Dioclesian,
twenty years ; Constantine to the Synod at Nicea, twenty
years ; all which years collected are nearly fifty-five as we
said. So also from the Synod at Nicea to the holy Synod of
150, which met at Constantinople in the days of the great
king Theodosius (at which was that godly pair, we mean
Gregory, bishop of Nysa, and Gregory Theologus, the bishop
of Sasima and of Nazianzum) there are again fifty-five years.
Thus : We take eleven years of Constantine the Conqueror,
after the Synod of Nicea ; twenty-five years of Constantine
and Constantius, and Constans his sons ; two years of Julian ;
one year of Jovinian ; fourteen years of Valentinian and
Valens with Gratian ; one year of Gratian and Valentinian
the Little ; all which collected are 55 years, as we said.
It is known therefore most clearly that this Gregory, the
Armenian, was different from the other three named, as also
we said above.
As to the lafst thing thou saidst, that if Gregory was faith-
ful, what is this opinion which he taught the Armenians, not
to put water with the wine in the cup of the Eucharist. Know
that it was in his power to order them who were under his
hands not to put water in the wine : whether he was faithful
or not faithful, for ordering them to put water in the wine or
not to put it, does not prove him faithful or unfaithful ; for
74 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
even now there are many unfaithful who put water in the
wine of the Eucharistic cup. But further, Gregory did not
command them by no means not to put water in the wine ;
or that no one should receive the Eucharist but at the holy
festival of the resurrection except elders and deacons and the
bishop (babus) ; or that they should not make pictures in
the churches, even if they report these things of him. But
even if Gregory gave them this law as they say, they ought to
consider that their Gregory is not greater and better than the
holy Apostles, who delivered in almost all the churches under
heaven to put water with the wine in the cup of the mysteries :
Peter and Paul at Antioch and Rome and their provinces ;
Paul and John at Ephesus and Byzantia and their jurisdic-
tions ; Luke and Mark at Alexandria and Egypt and the
places round about them ; and of these the tradition was borne,
and flowed and came to all other churches of Christians to this
day.
There are therefore four seats of Patriarchs which attest the
putting of water in the wine in the cup at the Eucharist ; but
for them there is not even one witness, except a custom which
obtains among them. And since an Armenian asked thee
where it is written that thou mayest prove to him from the
Gospel that there was water in the cup which our Lord gave
to his disciples, or that we ought to put water in the cup, let
him be also asked to show from the Gospel that there was no
water in the cup, or that we ought not to put water in the
cup of the mysteries. But perhaps he says, it is written in
the Gospel that our Lord said to his disciples, ".Verily, verily,
I say unto you, I will not drink again of this product of the
vine until I drink it anew with you in the kingdom of God."
And by this, that he says " product of the vine," it is known
that the cup was living wine, and not wine mingled with
water. But let him return and hear. What then, in the kiug_
doin of God, that is the period after his resurrection, when our
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 75
Redeemer ate and drank of his own free will with his disciples
to verify his resurrection, when he tarried with them forty
days, where is it written he and his disciples drank unmingled
wine whenever they ate and drank ? And who is so foolish
as to say this, but he that says that the cup which our Lord
took, and gave thanks and blessed upon it, and his disciples
drank of it, had no water in it but only wine ? But if a man
would refute this perverse opinion as he ought, and those
other matters of theirs which I put down above, there would
be need of many words and a special treatise. But we, leav-
ing this for the present, will come to another chapter of thy
inquiries.
Chap. 6. On Simeon, who took the Lord in his arms.
Chap. 7. On covering the head in prayer.
Chap. 8. On newly baptised children.
Chap. 9. On nocturnal temptations.
CHEONOLOGICAL ITEMS.62
No. 14643. Add. MSS.
Kings of the Assyrians : Belus, 62 ; Ninus, 52 ; Shemiram,
wife of Ninus, 42 years. From the 40th year of the reign of
Ninus, in Asia, to the 20th year of Sardanapalus, we reckon
1196 years.
Abraham was born in the 43rd year of the reign of Ninus.
Joseph was in Egypt 80 years.
The Hebrews served in Egypt 144 years.
Kings of Babel :
Pul; Adrashach, Assyrians.
Tigiath Pileser, Assyrian.
Shalmanezer, Assyrian.
Sennacherib, Assyrian.
Meroclach Baladan, Chaldee.
Nebuchadnezzar, Chaldee.
Almorodach, Chaldee.
Belatshatzar, Chaldee.
Darius, Mede.
Darius, son of Shurus.
76 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
In the first year of the 50th Olympiad the kingdom of the
Persians began.
Jndah was taken captive and the temple bnrned by Nebu-
chadnezzar in the second year of the 47th Olympiad. The
sum of all the years of the Kings of Israel is 485.
Beginning of the twenty-seven Persians : Cambyses first
reigned over Egypt 6 years. From him to Darius, 114.
The Persians, 114. Of the Babylonians and Medes, first
Cyrus, 30. Cambyses, 8. The Magians, 7 months. Darius,
36 years. Xerxes, 20. Titicnus, 7. Artachshesheth, 41.
Xerxes, 2 months. Sarginus, 7 months. Arisolthus, 19 years.
Artachshesheth, 40 years. Artachshesheth Uchomo, 26 years.
Perses, son of Uch(omo), 4 years. Darius, son of Ershach, 6
years. Alexander of Macedon, 5 years. The sum of all
these years is 225 and 11 months. They began in the 45th
and ended in the 153rd Olympiad.
The Kings of Ptolemais and of Alexandria and of Egypt.
In the 114th Olympiad Alexander of Macedon died at
Babel, and the government of Alexander and the Egyptians
was divided. The first king was Ptolemy, the son of Arnoba.
Ptolemy, son of Lagos, 40 years. Ptolemy Euergetes, 17 years.
Ptolemy Philadelphus, 38. Ptolemy Philopator, 24. Ptolemy
Euergetes, 35. Ptolemy Phiscon, 29. Ptolemy Soter, 14 years
and 6 months. Ptolemy, who was Alexander, 17. Ptolemy
Philadelphus, 8. Ptolemy Dionysius, 30. Cleopatra, 22. In
all 296 years and 6 months, from the 114th Olympiad to the
187th.
The kingdom of Syria and Babel and Asia.
In the 13th year of Alexander of Macedon, and Ptolemy
son of Arnoba, Seleucus reigned over Asia, Babylon, and
Syria. Seleucus Xicator was the first, 32. Antiochus
Soter, 19. Antiochus the god, 15. Seleucus Callinicus, 21.
Seleucus Ceraunus, 3. Antiochus the Great, 36. Seleucus
Philometor, 12. Antiochus Epiphanes, 11. Antiochus Eupator,
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 77
1 year and 2 months. Demetrius Soter, 2. Alexander, 2,
8 months. Demetrius and Drometer, 3. Antiochus Sidetes,
9. Demetrius, 4. Antiochus Agrippa, 12. Antiochus Cyzik,
18. Philippida 2. In all 219 years and 10 months. From
the 117th Olympiad to the 171st.
The Hebrews say that Cambyses was called Nebuchadnezzar
the 2nd, and that Judith was in his days.
In the 16th of Darius, son of Vastasp, in whose days the
Captivity returned, the building of the temple was accom-
plished in Jerusalem.
Chief men of the Jews after the Captivity :
Josiah, son of Josedek, priest with Zerubbabel.
Joiachim, son of Jeshua.
Elisha, son of Joiachim.
Jodoa, son of Neshib.
Johanan, son of Jodoa.
Odias, son of Johanan. In his days Alexander built Alex-
andria, and came to Jerusalem and worshipped the Lord.
Jonias, son of Iddo and Eliezer. In whose days the Scrip-
tures were translated by seventy wise men of the Hebrews.
Honia, son of Simeon, brother of Eliezer. In the days of
that Simeon, was Jeshua, son of Simeon, called the son of
Sirach. In the clays of Honia, Antiochus Leo persecuted the
Jews.
Eliezer, son of Mathitho.
Mathitho and his son. Juda Maccabi, 3 years.
Jonathan, 2 years.
Simeon, 8 years.
John, son of Hyrcanus, 35.
Aristobulus, after 470 years, united the crown with the
chief priesthood, 1 year.
Antigonus Jani, who is Alexander, 20 years.
Saleca 9. Whose wife Alexandria, after his death, gave up
the kingdom and priesthood to Hyrcanus and' Aristobulus, her
78 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
sons, 34 years : And there was a dissension between them
and Antipater, an Idumean, came to help Hyrcanus, and
overcame Aristobnlns : And when Aristobnlns died, his son
Alexander arose and warred with Hyrcanus and Antipater,
until Herod, the son of Antipater arose, 37 years after the
death of his father, and he overcame Alexander and reigned
in his stead. Herod begat four sons, Heraclius (Archelaus)
and Antipater, who was called Herod, Herod the tetrarch,
and Philip ; and after the death of Herod, Archelaus, his son,
reigned 9 years, and afterwards the kingdom was divided into
a tetrarchy.
I find that when Inacus reigned first in Argos, Jacob was
chief of the Hebrews.
Abraham, who was of the race of the Chaldees, was in the
days of Shemiram.
Moses was after then, but before those whom the Greeks
call Ancients, as Homer, and Hesiod, and much before
Heracles, Musseus, and Linus, Carion, Arcos, and Dioscurus,
Asclepius, Dionysius, and all the sons of the gods, and
Hermes and Apollos, and the other gods of the Greeks and
their mysteries and services. Also before the doings of Zeus
which are related by the Greeks, who say that all the records
are more recent than Cecrops, and Inachus who reigned first
in Attica, before whom Moses lived 3-50 years. From the
second of Darius, when the Temple was rebuilt, to the
fifteenth of Tiberius, when our Lord came and began his
preaching, there were 548 years. From the second of Darius
to the first Olympiad, there are 256 years or 64 Olympiads.
The first Olympiad was in the time of Isaiah and his fellows.
From the 45th of Cecrops to the sack of Ilion, were 330
years ; and from the eightieth of Moses and the Exodus to
Labaron and Samson, who lived at the fall of Ilion, we have
the same number. Moses was, therefore, without doubt, in
the days of Cecrops, who first ruled in Athens ; and the Olive
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 79
appeared in the Acropolis in his days, and the name of Athens
was given to the city. They say of Cecrops that he first
found out the name of Dios, and made an image of Athene,
and first established sacrifices which were not yet found
among the Greeks, with other wonderful things.
The flood in Deucalion's time was after Cecrops, so was the
conflagration in Phaethon's days.
And the building of Dardania, by Dardanus, who is first
mentioned by Homer, and the rape of Cyra, daughter of
Zeus, and the mysteries of Demeter, the inscription of the
altar which was in Eleusinia, the service of Triptolemus, the
rape of Europa by Zeus, King of Troas, from whom Ganymede
was carried away by the gods, in whose days was Tantalus,
and Tityus, and Apollo sprung from Zeus and Leta. The
coming of Camus to Thebes, and the birth of Dionysus
was 200 years later than Cecrops. After these were Linus
and Zythus and Apion, Musseus, Europus, Minos, Prusas,
Asclepias, Dioscurus, and Heracles, after whom was the sack
of Ilium. Much later than this was Homer, and after him
were Thales, Solon, and the rest of the seven wise men.
After these was Pythagoras, the first named a philosopher ;
and after him Socrates, from whom the systems of the philo-
sophers began.
Ninus and Shemiram first reigned in Athur. This Ninus,
son of Belus, held all Asia to beyond the Hindui. From
Abraham, who was in their times, to the great Flood, we
calculate 1081 years, according to the Hebrew Scripture;
and from the Flood to Adam, the first man, 2242. From
Ninus and Shemiram to the fifteenth of Tiberius we reckon
2046 as the number of years from Abraham to Tiberius.
From the fifteenth of Tiberius to the twenty-fourth of Con-
stantine there were 300 years. From Abraham to the
twentieth of Constantine there were 2344 : from Adam to
Abraham, 3323, and in all 5667. In Hebrew there are 86
80 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Jubilees of 50 years or 4300. From Adato. to our Lord's
Ascension there were 5522. From Adam to Alexander 5180,
and from Alexander to the birth of Christ 310, and to his
Ascension 342.
Of the strong kingdoms which were in all the earth.
The first king who received a crown from God was named
Sichon. Hamathus and the chief of the giants who held the
kingdom of Sichon, 17 years. And those who followed,
kings and giants, who held the kingdom, were 12, and they
held it 140 years. After the giants, the Babylonians took
the kingdom, their head, Anger Baladan, with six kings who
followed him, and they held the kingdom 177 years.
After the Babylonians, the Arabs took the kingdom, and
Sichon was their chief, with fifteen kings after him, and they
governed 528 years. After the Arabians, the sons of Phars
(Persians) took the kingdom, and their head was Hudarscha-
char, with thirteen kings after him, and they governed 490
years. After the Persians, the Babylonians took the govern-
ment a second time, with Tiros their head, and twenty-four
kings after him, and they governed 731 years. After the
Babylonians, the sons of Athur (Assyrians) and JNTinevites
governed, with Esthatir, their head, and eighteen kings after
him, who ruled 462 years. After the Assyrians and Nine-
vites, the Babylonians took the government the third time.
The Medes and Persians ruled with Esharathchon their head,
and 13 kings after him, who governed 330 years. After the
Medes and Persians, the second time, the Macedonians ruled,
with Alexander their head, and ten kings after him, who
governed 143 years. After the Greeks, the Eomans ruled,
with Augustus their head, and thirty-two kings after him to
the nineteenth year of Constantine, and they ruled 335 years
and four months.
From the eighth of Nero and the Martyrdom of Paul and
Peter to the thirty-second of Constantine, are 272 years : and
SYRIAN .MISCELLANIES. 81
from Adam to the eighth of Nero, 5556 years. From Adam
to the birth of Christ 5490, and from Christ to Constantine,
341.
Jerusalem was taken in the second of Vespasian, on the
eighth of Elul. When Nebuchadnezzar took it, it had been
built 1480 years and six months. It was first built by a
Canaanite, who was called in the language of his fathers
Melchizedec. David expelled the Canaanites, and settled
his own people in it. After 477 years and six months, the
Babylonians wasted it. From David to the overthrow by
Titus were 1179 years. Neither its antiquity (2177 years)
nor its wealth, nor its universal renown, nor its great glory
sufficed to prevent its destruction.
In the year 309 of the era of Alexander of Macedon did
our Redeemer appear in the world, and he was in the
world thirty-three years, according to the evidence of the
true books of the Archives of Edessa, which err in nothing,
and which make everything known to us truly.
Ninus reigned 52 years ; in his forty-second year he built
the city of Ninus, in the land of Athur ; the Hebrews call it
Nineveh. Shemiram, wife of Ninus, reigned over the Athu-
rians, 42 years, and many stories are related of her. She
held Asia, and set up hills because of a flood, and built Babel.
When Abraham was 75 years old he received the promise.
To Abraham, first of the prophets, the Word of God appeared
in the form of a man, and foretold the calling of the Gentiles.
Carus and Belus, the sons of Inachus, built a city at the fort
of Antioch, on the river Orontes, in the 160th year of pro-
mise. All the years of the sojourning of the Hebrews in
Egypt were 415.
In the year 380 of the promise, Cosanthus (? Xanthus) built
Tripolis.
Moses was 35 years old when Cecrops reigned in Attica,
and hence to the sack of Ilium were 375 years.
6
82 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
Eupoleinus wrote of Moses, " He was a wise man, who
taught the Jews letters and laws. The Phoenicians received
them of the Jews, and the Greeks of the Phoenicians. In the
year 420 of the promise . . . Corinth was built, before
called Eupora (Ephyre). The temple of Bedlus was built by
Eririchthon, son of Cecrops. Epaphus, son of Zeus, son of
Olympia [Io] built (Memphis ?) when he reigned over
Egypt the second time. Cadmon was built by Carmanus son
of Semele. Dardanus built Dardania.
In the 5 Books of "Moses are recorded the transactions of
3730 years, according to the translation of the LXX.
In the time of Joshua, Dionysius went out against the
Hindui to war, and built the city of Nysa, on the river
Hindus. Tyre was built 240 years before the Temple of
Jerusalem, as Josephus writes in his third book [Antiq.
viii. 3.] Of Carchedon (Carthage) Philistus says it was
built by Carchedus and Azor, Syrians, at this time.
Shalmanezer first took captive the Israelites. He took
ten tribes from Samaria, to Chaldea, and sent Assyrians to
keep the land, and since they were zealous to keep the law
of the Jews, they were called Samaritans, which is interpreted
Keepers. The Latins were called Romans, and Romulus was
their first king, and he built Rome. Numa Pompilius
reigned there 43 years. He built the Capitol from the
foundation, and gave money of wood, leather, and earthen-
ware, instead of gold, silver, etc., as now. Glaucus, of
Chios, discovered the welding (adherence) of iron. Tullus
Hostilius was king of the Romans 33 years. He first used
purple and a sceptre. His house was consumed with light-
ning, and he was burned with it and died.
The preceding extracts from No. 14643, are not consecu-
tive in the MS. Those which follow are a rendering of the
SY1UAN MISCELLANIES. 83
conclusion of the volume from p. 92. They are in three
sections.
1. Part of the Chronicle.
2. A notice of Synods.
3. The reigns of Mahomet and his successors.
EXTRACTS FROM CHRONICLE.
Chosroes went up the first time in the year 851 (== 540 a.d.)
In the year 853, Chosroes went up the second time.
In the year 830, Mandar went up the first time.
In the year 865, in Haziran (June), Mandar died.
In the year 843, a Hindoo came in Conon (December-
January).
In the year 855, the first plague happened.
In the year 855, an earthquake and the swallowing* up of
cities.
In the year 881, Mandar made war, and God helped Mandar
and doomed Cabus.
In the year 848, died Mar John Bar Carsus, on the 9th of
Shabet, the 3rd.
In his time also was Mar Jacob, the doctor, who died in 830.
In the year 876, died Theodosius, patriarch of Alexandria,
on Tammuz the 22nd, in the 13th.
Mar Athanasius was ordained 915, and died 942.
In 684, died Mar Ephraim, the doctor, the 18th of the
month Haziran.
In 673, Nisibis was taken from the Romans by the Persians.
In 746, died Mar Rabulas, of Edessa, a Bishop.
In 730, Mar Simeon ascended the pillar, and in 770 he
died on the 2nd of Elul.
In 871, Chosroes and his host went up to Antioch and laid
84 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
siege to it and took it, and led away its inhabitants captive,
and laid waste many cities, and took many captives, and went
down to his country and built a city for the captives he had
taken from Antioch, and called its name Antiochosrun.
And again, in the year 884, Chosroes and his host went up
again and besieged Dara, and sent Mazal Drahman, his satrap,
and he went up to Antioch and burned Hemus (= Hems or
Emesa) and the house of Mar Julian, and went to Seleucia,
and besieged it, and went to Apamea, which was surrendered
to his will and burned, and he took its inhabitants captive
and departed ; and when he went down to his lord he laid
siege to Dara, and took its inhabitants captive, and emptied
it, and he put in it of his own people the Persians.
In the year 902, in the 9th (month), Chosrun went up to the
land of the Eomans when he was a youth, and he was received
with great honour, and the Romans brought him down and
set him upon his throne.
In the year 910, in the 2nd (month), Domitian persecuted
the faithful.
In the year 814 (914) in the 6th (month), in the month
Ab, on the 23rd of it, the Romans slew Mauricius and his
sons.
In the year 915, in the 7th (month), Dara wa3 besieged the
second time.
In the year 920, the 10th month, there was much snow in
every place, and a severe frost, until the whole Euphrates was
frozen in the night of Epiphany, and sheets of ice remained in
it six days, and no boats traversed it, and many fishes died,
and olive trees withered in every place.
In the same year Merida was taken ; and in the same year
Resaina was taken in summer ( ? )
In the year 921, were taken Urhi, and Haran, and Callini-
cum, and Carcusium, and every place besides which remained
on the east to the Euphrates : And in the winter the Eu-
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 85
phrates became the boundary ; and in the 7th of Ab, of that
year, Shahruroz crossed over to Zenobia and took it, for that
city was the first taken on the west of the Euphrates.
In the year 922, the Persians entered Hamez, and found
there much Oriental people, and sent them every man to his
place : and in that year, in summer, the Persians and Romans
warred at Mar Thomas of Hamez.
In the year 924, the Persians entered Darmsuk.
In the year 925, Jerusalem was taken.
In the year 929, Beth Damian was annexed.
In the year 930 were annexed those from the parts of
Canon and of Augin : and in Haziran of this year, Alex-
andria was taken.
In the year 940 ( ? 930) the Persians went out from Alex-
andria, and all the cities of Syria, in the month of Haziran,
by the ordinance of God and not by the power of man.
In the year 934, they entered Asclepia, Crete, and the
other islands, and the religious of Keneshro were taken, and
there were slain of them about twenty men.
In the year 934, the Persians entered Rhodes, and took the
commander there, and took down the captives to Persia.
In that year Heraclius, the king, went forth from his
throne, and led a great army, and went down to Persia, and
laid waste the land, and took many captives.
In the year 938, on the 15th of Elul, the sun and moon
were darkened.
In the year 934 ( ? 938) in Sliebet, died Chosroes, who con-
quered all the earth and reigned 40 years, and Shirui, his son,
reigned after him seven months, and he died that year at
its end, and his son reigned after him, and his name was
Ardashir (Ardishir, D'Herb. i. 245.)
In the year 940 in Haziran, in the night was a great earth-
quake, and in Tammuz of that year, Heraclius, king of the
Romans, and Shahruroz, the Patrician of the Persians, met
OD SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
in Coelesyria, at a place in the north whose name is Arabissus
Tripotamus ( ? ), and there they built a church and called the
name of it Irene, and talked there one with another in peace,
and consented that the Euphrates should be the border between
them, and so made peace one with another.
In the year 945, Indiction the 7th, in the 4th of Shebet,
at 9 o'clock in the evening, there was a battle between the
Romans and the Teians of Mahomet, of Palestine, from the
east to Gaza 12 miles, and the Romans fled and left Patricius,
son of Jordan, (or the Patrician, Bar Jordan), and the Teians
slew him ; and there were slain there about 4000 poor souls
(heads) of Palestine, Christians, Jews, and Samaritans : and
the Teians wasted all the country.
In the year 947, Indiction the 9th, the Teians went forth
into all Syria, and went down to the country of the Persians
and conquered it ; and the Teians went up to the rock of
Merida, and they slew many monks in Kedar and in Banathu,
and there died the blessed Simeon, janitor of Kedar, brother
of Thomas the elder.
In the year 343, Simeon Cephas laid the foundations of
the Church of Antioch.
In the year 344, Stephen the Martyr was stoned of the
Jews, in Jerusalem : and from that year Paul began to
preach.
In the year 375, Nero slew Paul and Peter at Rome.
In the year 376, Jerusalem was wasted by Vespasian, and
by Titus, his son ; and in that war Josephus, the historian,
was slain (?)
In the year 383, there was a mortality at Rome, so that
there died 1000 men.
In the year 420, Mar John, the Evangelist, died.
In the year 415, there was a great persecution of the
Christians by Trajan, the wicked king, and Simeon, son of
Cleophas, bishop of Jerusalem, nobly suffered martyrdom.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 87
In the year 419, Trajan made Armenia a province, and in
the same year Ignatius, who was a disciple of John the
Evangelist, suffered martyrdom in Antioch.
In the year 448, Marcion and Manetes, heretics in Phrygia,
were famous.
In the year 479, Bardesanes, who promulgated the doc-
trine of Valentinus, was famous.
In the year 543, Sergius and Bacchus suffered martyrdom.
In the year (560?) persecution arose against the Christians,
through Valentinus (Valentinian), an Arian king.
In the year (563 ? ) Shabor, king of the Persians, wasted
the Syrians, and Cappadocia ; and in the same year the
barbarians crossed over the river Danube and devastated the
islands.
In the year 503, arose Paul of Samosata.
In the year 573, arose the deceiver Manes.
In the year 583, Aurelian the king made a persecution,
and God smote him in battle, and he died.
In the year 611, there was an overthrow of churches by
Diocletian, the wicked, and Peter, bishop of Alexandria,
suffered martyrdom.
In the year 619, reigned Constantine the Victor.
In the year 620, Constantine removed the throne from
Rome to Constantinople. In the 26th year Constantine con-
ferred liberty upon the Christians, and honoured and enlarged
the Churches of Christ.
In the year 636, there was an assembly of 318 bishops.
In the year 648, the great Constantine died.
In the year 670, Mar Ephraim, the doctor, began to be
renowned.
In the year 714, Amid was taken on the 24th of Canon the
first.
In the year 720, Dara was built.
In the j^ear 724, Armenia rebelled, and Anastasius the
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES
king, sent an army and subdued it, and the king uttered coin
of 40 denarii ( ? ), and of 20, and of 10, and of 5.
In the year 730, the bishops of Theodora the queen, were
persecuted by Justin everywhere.
In the year 735, Edessa was enclosed.
In the year 740, Zurac took up a great army of Persians
to the Rornan state, and fought with the Eomans at the
river Euphrates, and a multitude of the Romans were
drowned in the Euphrates.
NOTICE OF COUNCILS.
At what time Synods have met, and in the days of what Kings.
In the year 427, in the days of Hadrian, the king, Sabellius
arose against the Church, 117 years after the birth of Christ,
and said that there was one Person in the Trinity, and that
the body and blood which we receive from the altar is the
Trinity. And forty-three Bishops met at Ancyra, of Galatia,
and excommunicated him from the Church.
And in the year 530, in the days of Severus, the king,
arose Paul of Samosata against the Church. He was Bishop
of Antioch, and he called the Son of God righteous, as one of
the ancient righteous who had been in the world. And this
was 220 years from the birth of Christ. And all the Bishops
assembled at Antioch, Dionysius of Rome, and Dionysius of
Alpharno (i.e. Alexandria), and Gregory Thaumaturgus, and
excommunicated him from the Church.
And in the year 640, in the days of Julian, the impious
king, arose Eustathius against the Church, 330 years after the
birth of Christ. And there assembled the Sons of the Covenant,
who ate not flesh and took not wines, with the Sons of the
Covenant who ate flesh and took wines ; and there was a
division in the Church, and seventy Bishops met in the city
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 89
of Gangra, and they read in the sacred Scriptures, and decided
and said thus : " That after God had set apart for Aaron, the
priest, the right shoulder and the jaw and the (appurtenances?)
until Eli, the priest, the priests of Israel ate flesh, and no man
was stumbled by them, because they ate it in rectitude and
propriety, as God commanded by the prophets ; and when the
sons of Eli came and snatched the flesh from the people, Paul
comes and decides it not (to be) for impurity but for gluttony,
and says, ' I will never eat flesh, that I cause not my brother
to stumble.' "
That of 318, met at Nicea, in the days of Constantine, the
first Christian king, in the year 636, on the 19th of Haziran,
in the 13th. In this was the overthrow of wicked Arms.
From the birth of Christ, it was 326. Its heads were, Silvester
at Borne, and Alexander the Great, of Alexandria, and Eusta-
thius of Antioch, and Macarius of Jerusalem. There was
there also the great Athanasius, who was a deacon, who
ministered as a true son to holy Alexander. There was there
also Eusebius of Cardabus ( ? ITosius of Corduba), who also
in that of Saddica (Sardica) was found, with Eustathius of
Ludion ( ? ) Ethilhas of Urhi, Jacob of Nisibis, Antiochus of
Resaina, Eusebius of Csesarea of Palestine, Eusebius of
Nicomedia.
That of 150, met in the days of the great king Theodosius
at Constantinople, in the year 691, in the month Ab (the
10th?). Herein was the overthrow of wicked Macedonius of
Constantinople, from the birth of Christ 380 years, and from
the (Council) of Nicea 55 years. Its chiefs were Timothy of
Alexandria, and Meletus of Antioch, and Cyril of Jerusalem.
And Nectarius came into the place of Macedonius. There were
there also Gregory, the speaker of divine things, (Theologus)
of Anzianzi (Nazianzum), and Gregory of Nysa, brother of
Basil, and Anphilochius of Iconium, and Diodorus of Tarsus,
Gelasius of C?esarea of Palestine, Rufus of Beishau, and Acac
9Q SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
of Haleb, Eulog of Urhi, Abrahan of Batnan, Mara of Amid,
Betho of Tela, Helladius of Csesarea of Cappadocia, and
Eutherius of Tryna (Tyana).
The first of Ephesus of 220, in the 13th consulate of Theo-
dosius the Little, and the 3rd of Valentinus, in the year 740 ;
50 years from the preceding, and from the birth of Christ 430.
Herein was the condemnation of Nestorius, on the 28th of
Haziran. Its principals were, Cyril of Alexandria, and
Celestinus of Rome, by means of those who were sent from
him ; Theodotus of Ancyra of Galatia, Sycnasus of Dioscuria,
Acac of Melitene, Valerianus of Macalla (?), Menas of Ephesus
itself, and Jubilianus of Jerusalem.
The second of Ephesus, in the days of Theodosius the Little,
in the year 760, and 450 from the birth of Christ, 19 years
after the previous one, met through Flavianus of Constanti-
nople, and Eusebius of Dorylaeum, on account of Eutyches, a
chief monk. And they insisted to the wicked Eutyches that
the body of our Lord was a partaker of our nature, and he
confessed this which before he did not confess. They also
urged him to confess that there are two natures in Christ, and
because he would not confess this Flavian and the rest made
his deposition. This cause forced King Theodosius to as-
semble the second Synod in Ephesus. Now its leaders were,
Dioscurus of Alexandria, and Jubilianus of Jerusalem, and
Stephen of Ephesus, and Eustathius of Bostra, and Amphi-
lochius of Saida, and others ; and when that was read before
them which, was done in the imperial city, they found that
Flavian required Eutyches to confess the two natures, and
they made the deposition of Flavian and of Eusebius. After-
wards they deposed Domius of Antioch, Renins of Tyre, Hiba
of Urhi, Celenius of Bibulus, Theodoritus of Cyrus, Daniel
of Haran, Spirion of Tela, Mari, a Persian, and others, who
were in number 35. Eutyches presented a document, in
which was the creed of the 318, and the God-clad fathers
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 91
anathematised all who had accused him in these things at
Constantinople. They received him by this which deceived
them as men, that wicked matter of ungodly heresy which
was in his soul : for it is written that man sees into the eyes,
and the Lord sees into the heart.
That of Chalcedon met in the days of Marcion, the king.
There were 665 there, and it was three years after the preced-
ing, and 453 years from the birth of Christ. It met in the
year 763, and its chiefs were Leo of Home, Anatolius of
Constantinople, Maximus of Antioch, Jubilius of Jerusalem,
Aninicus (?) of Saida, Hiba of Urhi, Theodoritus of Cyrus,
Eusebius of Dorliseus, Basil of Seleucia, in Isauria, Seleucus
of Amasea, who, after they were found to be with Flavian,
at Constantinople, in the deposition of Eutyches, when they
saw that Flavian was condemned, returned and drew up a
document at the second Council of Ephesus, and anathematized
that opinion, and were there received. And, again, after-
wards, they came to the Council of Chalcedon, when they
saw that everything was done in opposition to this second
Synod of Ephesus ; and at its dissolution, again they
returned to their vomit as before, and went back to whatever
they did in the second Synod of Ephesus, saying that they
did them not willingly, but by compulsion. Now this was
the opinion which they set up in Constantinople at the depo-
sition of Eutyches, requiring us to confess two natures in
Christ, which was anathematized in the second Synod of
Ephesus. When they met in Chalcedon after they had de-
posed the holy and great confessor Dioscurus, they were
asked by the principals and the senators who were with them
to make a confession of faith. But they cried out and said,
" It is not lawful for us to do this, and we do not venture,
and dare not, for there is a canon which forbids us to do this."
And after they had said this many times, and the chiefs did
not persuade them, they were forcibly persuaded by the
92 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
chiefs, and they removed all their excommunications, for they
anathematized themselves 35 times, saying that there were
not two natures in Christ, but unity was in it.
End.
MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOES.
Memorial of the life of Mahomet, (prophet) of God.
After he entered his city, and three months before he en-
tered. From his first year, and how long every king, who
after him ruled over the Mahagroye, lived, after they became
kings, and how long there was faction among them : three
months before Mahomed came.
And Mahomed lived ten years.
And Abubecr, son of Abucohapha, two years and six months.
And Omar, son of Katab, ten years and three months.
And Othman, son of Aphan, twelve years.
And a sedition after Othman, five years and four months.
And Mohawiya, son of Abusaiphan, nineteen years and two
months.
And Yezid, son of Mohawiya, three years and eight months.
And a sedition after Yezid, nine months.
And Merwan, son of Hakem, nine months.
And Ebed l'Melek, son of Merwan, twenty-one years and
one month.
Walid, son of Ebed l'Melek, nine years and one month.
And Soliman, son of Ebed l'Melek, two years and nine
months.
And Omar, son of Ebed l'Aziz, two years and five months.
And Yezid, son of Ebed l'Melek, four years, one month,
and two days.
We reckon all these years at 104, five months and two days.
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 93
PORTIONS OF TWO MARTYROLOGIES.
Add. MSS. 14644.
The following extracts are from a curious volume of great
antiquity, the contents of which are indicated below, on page
97. I gave a further account of the volume in a paper on
the Acts of Addi in the Journal of Sacred Literature for Oct.,
18-58.
The first extract respecting Sophia and her three daughters
savours of a Christian allegory, and may have been originally
such.
The second on Sharbel relates, beyond question, to a histor-
ical personage : its conclusion is, however, fictitious enough
to satisfy the most ardent lover of ancient legends.
Martyrdom of Sophia and of her three daughters, Helpis,
Pistis, and Agape, in the city of Rome.
By the grace of God, the Gospel is disseminated in all the
earth under heaven, by Jesus Christ the Redeemer of all the
sons of men ; that we should every man believe in God
Almighty, and in Jesus Christ the only Son, and in the
living and Holy Spirit, and that every man should abandon
the worshop of idols, and vain error, and should receive help
to their souls, and the baptism of expiation for the remission
of sins. When this word of life was preached by the
Apostles, and by all the preachers, all parts ran with joy to
baptism, and in faith the feet of the Apostles were kissed ;
for they were great and noble teachers of truth, and through
them all of us came to the way of truth.
Now there was a certain woman of the great family of the
house of Sallust, and her name was Sophia. She entered
the city of Rome with her three daughters, fair virgins, and
they hoped to receive the seal of Christ our Redeemer. And
her daughters had grown up in wisdom and the Grace of God.
Now their mother greatly rejoiced and praised God, because
94 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
the wisdom of God was found in the mind of her daughters ;
and she prayed the Lord to send help to his handmaids. And
since these virgins were strong in the fear of God, and con-
tinued in fasting and prayer and vigils, they were acknow-
ledged in the mind of every man ; and in the years of youth
they exhibited the conduct of martyrs and of apostles.
They went, therefore, according to their custom, on the
first day of the week to pray in the house of God. And sud-
denly Satan moved the heart of Antiochus, one of the heads
of the city, and he stood before Herodianus the king, and
said to him, ' A certain woman and her three daughters, who
came we know not whence, teach the women every day that
they should worship one God and his Son Jesus Christ, and
we are ourselves become strangers to our wives, for they do
not come to meat, nor to drink, nor do they remove from
these virgins, and so are they alienated (?) that even the
praise of the gods is blotted out of the land." And when
Herodian the king heard this, he sent guards (?) after them,
who took them and brought them to the palace of the king.
And the believing virgins of Christ, with their mother, came
with joy, and took each other by the hand, and when they ar-
rived at the door of the king's palace, there were crosses
imprinted on all their breasts. Now the virgins were fair, so
that none of the spectators could look at their faces except as
at the sun's rays, which are seen afar off and in a glass. The
grace of God, moreover, was shed upon these virgins."
Their examination and martyrdom follows, and the story
ends with the succeeding manifest imitation of the account of
the death of Herod, given by Josephus.
" Now Herodian, the wicked king, died of many torments,
for his bowels fell in the house (?), his flesh perished from his
bones, his teeth dropped from his jaws, his arms were severed
from his shoulders, the filth came from his mouth, everything
in his whole body corrupted, and he cried with a loiid voice,
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 95
and said, ' Lord God, who didst help the three virgin sisters
and their mother, take my soul from me, for I know that
what I endure is because of these three souls.' And when he
had said this, he shrieked with a loud voice, and was rent in
twain, and his flesh was scattered about, and his bones were
not found : And all this happened unto him by prophecy."
End of the martyrdom of the three noble virgins and their
mother, the faithful Sophia.
Memorials of Sharbel, who had been a priest of idols, and was
converted to the profession of Christianity in Christ.
" In the 15th year of the Emperor Trajan Csesar, and in
the 3rd year of the reign of Abgar, the seventh king, which
was the year 419 of the kingdom of Alexander, king of the
Greeks, and in the priesthood of Sharbel and of Barsamia,
Trajan Caesar commanded the governors of the provinces of
his dominions to multiply sacrifices and offerings in all the
cities under their jurisdiction. Those who did not sacrifice
were to be taken and subjected to scourgings, and tortures,
and bitter affliction, and all kinds of torments, and afterwards
to suffer capital punishment by the sword. And when the
command arrived at the fort (or castle) of Adasa of the
Parthians, there was held a great feast, on the eighth of
Nisan, and the third day in the week, and the whole city
assembled," etc.
After a long narrative of what ensued, the following curious
statement occurs : —
" And when the executioners had entered the city, the bre-
thren and young man ran and stole the bodies of both of
them, and deposited them in the sepulchre of the father of
'Abshalmo, the Bishop, on the 5th of Elul, on a Friday.
These memorials were written on paper by me, Marinus
96 SYRIAN MISCELLANIES.
and Anatolius, notaries, and put in the archives of the
city where the records (chartce) of the kings are laid np.
Now this Barsamia, the bishop, was the teacher of Sharbel,
the priest. He was in the days of Binns (Fabianns) Bishop
of Rome, in whose days all the manhood of Borne was col-
lected together, and they cried to the governor of the city and
said to him, " There are many strangers in the city, and they
cause the prostration and the burdening of everything. We
therefore request thee to order them to depart out of the
city." And when he had given orders that they should
remove from the city, the strangers assembled, and said to
the governor, " We ask of thee, my Lord, also to give orders
that the bones of out dead should be taken away with us."
And he ordered them to take the bones of the dead and to go
forth. And all the strangers gathered together in order to
take the bones of Simeon Cephas and of Paul, the apostles ;
and the men of Borne said unto them, " We make you no
grant of the bones of the apostles." And the strangers said
to them, " Learn and observe, that Simeon Cephas was of
Bethsaida, of Galilee, and Paul the apostle was of Tarsus,
a city of Cilicia." And when the men of Borne perceived
that the matter was so, permission was accorded. And when
they raised them and removed them from their places, in
that same hour there was a great earthquake, and the
edifices of the city came to fall, and it was near its overthrow.
And when the men of Borne saw, they returned and besought
the strangers to remain in the city, and that their bones
should be restored to their places. And when the bones of
the apostles were returned to their places, there was a calm,
and the tremblings ceased, and the winds were still, and the
air was clear, and all the city was glad. So when the Jews
and the heathens saw this, they ran and fell at the feet of
Fabian, the bishop of their city ; the Jews crying out, " We
confess Christ whom we crucified, that he is the son of the
SYRIAN MISCELLANIES. 97
living God, He of whom the prophets spake in their myste-
ries." And the heathens also cried and said to him, " We
renounce images and statues wherein is no profit, and we
believe in Jesus the King, the Son of God, who came, and
who will come again ; and would that there were no other
doctrines in Rome or in all Italy !" These also denied their
doctrine as the heathen (Jews ?) denied, and confessed the
doctrine of the apostles which was preached in the Church.
End of the memorials of the famous Sharbel.
contents oe add. MS., no. 14644, fol. 92 b. and 93 a.
We have finished in this writing the histories of select
martyrdoms (or testimonies) : That of King Abgar, and the
doctrine of Addi the apostle, and the Finding of the Cross,
and the Finding of the Cross the second time, and the martyr-
dom of the blessed Cyricus, the Bishop, and the doctrine of
Simeon Cephas, and the doctrine of the apostles, the history
of Mar Abraham Cydonius, and the triumph of the blessed
Mar Sabas (or the old man) Julian, and the martyrdom of
Sophia and her three daughters, Pistis, Elpis, and Agape,
and the martyrdom of Jacob Maphasco (or the mutilated),
and the martyrdom of Sharbel, and the memorials of Mar
Cosmas and of Mar Damian, his brother, true physicians (?),
and the history of a man of God. They are fourteen in
number.
OBSEKVATIONS.
\The figures refer to the number of the Note.~]
1 When a volume contains a number of articles, it is customary
for the second and subsequent to commence with the word again.
It will be observed that the Council of Nicea is called a Synod of
318, although it is subsequently admitted that so many did not sub-
scribe the Acts. The reckoning of the Greeks here alluded to is the
well-known era of the Seleucidse commonly regarded as commencing
e.g. 311. The Syrian Chronicle from which extracts are given in
these pages says that it commenced b.c 310. It will be noticed
that the same reckoning is here called that of the Edessenes, and it
is elsewhere termed that of Alexander. The date here assigned to
the Council is June 19th, the same as that given by the more
ancient document quoted at p. 7. It is well known that the date
here assigned to the Council, so far as the day of the month is con-
cerned, agrees with some, and differs from others of the ancient
authorities. The statement that the fathers assembled in the first
instance at Ancyra of Galatia, appears to rest solely on the authority
of this manuscript and the one quoted at p. 7. Supposing it to be
true, it seems to intimate that the questions brought before the
Nicene Council, had already come before a Synod at Ancyra. That
it was the well-known Synod of Ancyra held about a.d. 314, seems
very improbable, and we must infer, that the reference is to a
Synod of which no other traces have been brought to light, and one
which preceded by a very short time, the one held at Mcea.
2 The expression "for a Synod to assemble" is in the original
literally, " that it should assemble," or " that there should be an
assembly." As it regards the genuineness of the letter ascribed to
Constantine, a few words may not be out of place. The reviewer of
the " Analecta Niesena" in the Christian Remembrancer, objected to
100 OBSERVATIONS.
this document, although it has heen accepted by the learned Dom
Pitra in the Spicilegium Solesmense, and by the writer of the
article in Her%ogys Real Encyclopadie on the Nicene Council, as well
as by others. It is well-known that Eusebius in his life of Con-
stantine, (lib. iii. cap. 6) states that the Emperor summoned the
Bishops, or to use his own words, " convoked an oecumenical Synod,
summoning the Bishops by respectful letters to make haste from
every place." Eusebius goes on to say that the Emperor promised
and arranged for the transport of the Bishops, etc. The letter of
Constantine is also mentioned by other writers ; but as far as I can
ascertain, no such document was discovered until I met with a copy
in the British Museum. Since then I have found a second, and a
third at Paris. The copies differ but very slightly. I have, how-
ever, printed here both the one from Paris, and the first I met with
in London. And now, to return to the question of genuineness, I
will only repeat the statements I made to my reviewer in my reply
to his censures : — Allow me to extract from my private notes the
heads of argument upon which I relied. Individually some of them
may be weak, but taken together I fancy that they will at least
prove that I no more write before I think, than before I read.
1 . The Letter is not inconsistent with the account given of it by
Eusebius. 2. It contains some things which he says were in it, and
which it would appear he quoted from it. 3. Its main statements
accord with historical facts so far as we can ascertain. 4. It was
undeniably written in Greek, as is proved by peculiar Greek idioms
which occur in it, and by the statement made at the end of the
book, of the contents generally. 5. It was certainly extant in the
5 th century, as it must have existed before it was translated (a.d.
501). 6. It concludes with a formula which Constantine employed
in like cases. 7. All the documents associated with it are genuine.
8. No motive can be assigned for its forgery. 9. Another copy of
it exists with the same title in a separate and most ancient manu-
script. 10. Others were more likely to let it fall into oblivion than
the Syrians to forge it. 1 1 . A forger would have made it include all
that Eusebius says of the summons to the Council. 12. Some of
the difficulties suggested by it are a presumption in its favour, because
a forger would have avoided anything calculated to provoke enquiry,
if not suspicion. So much for its genuineness. But I do not re-
gard the title of this letter as having formed part of the original
document, and I suppose this general circular was accompanied by
others, varied according to circumstances, and relating to transport,
provision, and such details.
OBSERVATIONS. 101
As this question of a second Synod at Ancyra, out of which the
Mcene Council appears to have been developed, is one of historical
importance, I will add a few other remarks. In his second apology
against the Arians, Athanasius quotes a letter by Julius of Eome in
which these words occur, " The Bishops who came together at the
great Synod at Nicea (not without the counsel of God), agreed that
the business of a former Synod should be tested at another." In
reference to which as an "old custom" M. de Broglie, in his
EEgli&e et L* Empire Romain, (vol. ii. p. 428), asks whether the
writer "refers to a special decree of the JSTieene Fathers, which we
have lost, or simply to the conduct which they had tacitly au-
thorized by their example in submitting Arius to a new judgment
when he had already been condemned at Alexandria?" My own
idea is that the allusion may be to the Ancyrene Synod of the Syriae
documents. In any case, time will probably show their true
meaning.
As to whether the Pope must take part in calling a general
Council, it will be seen that Constan tine's letter makes no allusion
to him specifically. He does say, as I understand it, that "the
Bishops of Italy and the other countries of Europe are coming," but
this gives no more prominence to the Bishop of Eome, than to the
Bishop of any other place, and the absence of such distinction will
be accounted for by every man in his own way.
3 This expression is not very transparent. The participle signifies
to consider, have regard to, and is so used in Rom. iv. 19 ; Phil,
iii. 17, etc. The word rendered "best" usually denotes "excellent,
or more excellent ; " and the whole clause, as I take it, means that
each of the Bishops is to have regard to what is good, and devise
what shall be profitable.
4 Doubtless the names were appended to the original document,
but they are omitted in the Paris copy.
5 The decisions contained in the preceding extracts are partly
contained in the Spicilegium Solesmense, in Coptic (vol. i.) The
last of them relating to the Passover or Easter has been also recently
printed in the fourth volume of the same work. I printed an
account of this Paris fragment with some extracts in the Journal of
Sacred Literature, for January, 1860, in which I remarked as
follows : — It serves to confirm some, and to throw fresh light upon
others, of the notices of this celebrated and venerable assembly.
True, it gives us few new facts and raises one or two difficult ques-
102 OBSERVATIONS.
tions ; but it is of importance on several accounts. In the first place
it is, as we before said, a consecutive narrative, in which the various
decisions of the Council seem to follow each other in the order in
which they were adopted. Supposing this to be the case, we have
here the nearest approach to a Lihellus Synodicus, or minutes of the
Council, which, so far as we know, has yet been discovered. A
curious question suggested by the document used for the Analecta
Niccma is here again raised, namely, what can be meant by the
Bishops being first assembled at Ancyra, and summoned thence to
!Nicea by the letter of Constantine? Are these the only existing
traces of an unrecorded Synod at Ancyra? We must leave to
others the resolution of this difiiculty. It would appear, moreover,
that the attendant Bishops twice subscribed, once to the Confession
of Faith, and once to the decree concerning the observance of Easter.
The account given of the absence of the names of so many of the
western Bishops is worthy of notice, although not absolutely new.
On several important points, as to the date of the Council, the num-
ber of the canons, etc., the document agrees with the best attested
records.
6 The Ancyrene list here given varies considerably from that
given below from the older manuscript.
7 " God keep you, my beloved brethren,' ' appears to have been
the usual formula with which Constantine concluded his epistles.
8 Corduba was in Spain and not in Italy, a pardonable error of
the scribe. The cities and towns were not always in the provinces
to which they were assigned. The Syrian names of places are often
written in imitation of the Greek genitive case. As far as I could
I have written them in the nominative.
9 Tauthatis may be for Tauthas or Tauthis. I have been unable
to identify it.
10 Teuchilibya probably for Teuchira of Libya. Except it be
Tauche, and Libya then belongs to the following line.
11 Sebaste, Sebastena, and Samaria, all appear to be the same, in
which case we have three Bishops for one city.
18 Alaso, i.e. Alasea, Lazo, or Lasa, called Callirhoe by the Greeks.
Jerome places it on the border of the Canaanites towards Sidon.
13 Aresthan, now Kestan or Bostan ; the Greek Arethusa on the
Orontes*
OBSERVATIONS. 103
14 Harba-Kedem. Not identified. See Robinson's Palestine,
i. 134.
15 Esbonta, Heshbon. A Greek plural form.
16 Ethilhas of Edessa or Urhi. Socrates (i. 6) cites Alexander of
Alexandria calling Ethilhas one of the Arian apostates.
17 Some of the original works of Jacob appear to be now in the
British Museum, in Syriac.
18 John, as a Persian bishop, could be scarcely under the jurisdic-
tion of the Roman See.
19 Doron, or perhaps Rhodon, as in the Latin.
20 Aristacius or Aristaces is said by the Armenians to have been
the son of Gregory the Illuminator, the apostle of Armenia.
21 Marcellus of Ancyra. The Latin lists give Macarius and
Pancarius, but the Greek agrees with the Syriac.
22 Eudion, or perhaps Orion, as in the Greek, etc.
23 Julium or Julia. The Greek has Marianus of Troas. Did the
Romans call Troas, Julia, to distinguish it from Ilium ?
24 Standum has not been identified.
25 Verabon and the Greek Syarma are alike obscure.
26 The Parochia of Isauropolis. Strabo (568) alludes to old and
new Isauropolis. Which was the Parochia? I suppose the new
city.
27 Trobon may be Ternobus or Trinabus in Mcesia. The Greek
omits the name.
28 Divio, i.e. Dijon. I am not sure of this, and the Greek does
not assist me. ,
29 Eemale visitors. The Syriac is one word, and merely denotes
persons staying or lodging in the house.
30 Offering, i.e. the Eucharist. I have sometimes so translated
the word, but the Syrians said " offering."
31 An election common to all, means an open or public election.
32 The penitent was permitted to attend at the Eucharistic service,
but not to partake of the elements.
104 OBSERVATIONS.
33 Girdles represented military service, and were laid aside by
those who left that service.
34 Ministry here seems to include all kinds of service in the
church, whether of those who were ordained or of those who were
not.
35 This Greek list will help to explain and confirm the Syriac,
which it more closely resembles than any other.
36 The second and third Egyptian names are written as here
printed, without distinguishing the person from the place.
37 Tauche, or Tauche of Lower Libya. The numerals are not in
the Greek.
38 Hidron-Caesarea, i.e. Hieron or Hiero-Caesarea.
39 Barsos, or Barsos of Baeotia. (See note 37).
40 Becon and Ionocentus. I have followed the uncouth spelling
of many of the Coptic names.
41 Two. The Coptic text says three, but only gives two.
42 The following extract is given mainly because of its interest to
the student of ancient geography, although it is interesting for other
reasons. The allusions to the lists in Mansi's great work will show
that we have here many new readings, and it deserves attention as
the most ancient catalogue of this council extant. It will be ob-
served that both here and at page 7 we have the date given accord-
ing to the reckoning of the Antiochians, and as that era commenced
B.C. 48, the Council of Constantinople is correctly placed in a.d.
381. In the following list, the words in brackets, without refer-
ences to Mansi, usually consist of my own inquiries and sugges-
tions. It will be observed that the Syriac list often gives the
Oriental names of places, but not always. Thus we have Beishan,
Accho, Haleb, Hamath, and Shizar, for Scythopolis, Ptolemais,
Chalybon, Epiphaneia. and Larissa. But we also have Diospolis,
etc., in the Greek forms. Some of the places I have failed to
identify, and the discussion of them here would occupy too much
space.
43 I find that the preceding confession is already known. The
three lists which follow differ in several respects from other extant
copies. In the first, Loliopolis is an error for Juliopolis.
44 The Laodicean list is otherwise unknown, but is unhappily
OBSERVATIONS.
105
imperfect. The Paris MS. already quoted embodies most of it,
however, in the list for Antioch, which I here give as I there
find it.
Taracondimantus .
Bassus.
Eustathius.
Musaeus (Moses ?)
Manicius.
Macedonius.
Agapius.
Theodoras.
Theodosius.
Theodotus.
Alphseus.
Agapius.
Archelaus.
Petrus.
Eusebius.
Anatolius.
Jacob.
Conon.
Narcissus.
Antiochus.
Paulus.
Siricius.
Alexander.
Mucianus.
Patricius.
Etherius.
Petrus.
Magnus.
From the provinces.
Of Upper Syria.
Of Phoenicia.
Of Palestine.
Of Mesopotamia.
Of Arabia.
Of Cilicia.
Of Isauria.
The repetition of names in this list is sufficient to prove it com-
pounded of two or more lists. The presence of Jacob of Nisibis, at
Laodicea, shows that the council was held prior to 348-9, when he
died, if we may rely upon the Syriac Chronicle, from which I
print some extracts.
45 These extracts are written in a very obscure style, and are evi-
dently taken from some apology or defence of Christianity, the
writer of which embodied them in his treatise. "What apology it
was I cannot say. Neither have I traced the extracts to their
sources. Indeed some of the names of the authors are quite un-
known to me.
46 This inscription seems quite out of place, but I give it as it
stands.
47 Eespecting the passage from Diodes, I made the following
remark in the article of the Journal of Sacred Literature already
referred to : — "At pp. 201 — 205 of his work, Dr. de Lagarde pub-
lishes an extract from a certain Diodes, respecting whom he gives
no further information. This Diodes appears to have been Diodes
of Peparethus, an ancient Greek historian, to whom, according to
Plutarch in his life of Eomulus, Eabius Pictor was largely indebted,
106 OBSERVATIONS.
and who was the first historian of the foundation of the Roman
state. The only other reference to Diocles which we remember is
in Festus Pompeius. The substance of what is given as from
Diocles, may be found in the Paschal Chronicle, the Chronicle of
John Halela and others, who will be found mentioned in the edition
of the Chronicon Paschale, published at Paris in 1688, at p. 503,
note 1 . As it appears in the Analecta Syrica the passage is im-
perfect, and in some places very obscure."
48 These extracts from Ignatius have been overlooked by the
learned Canon Cureton in his Corpus Ignatianum. In the article
quoted in the preceding note I made some observations upon them ,
which I will here repeat, as they sufficiently describe their cha-
racter:— " They are taken from a volume si Extracts from the Fathers
on sundry points of Christian Doctrine. Some of them are already
known, and the whole appears to be interspersed with the observa-
tions of the compiler. The passages are five in number, three of
them being already known, and two new. 1. A short extract from
the epistle to the Trallians, section the 5th. 2. One from the
epistle to the Magnesians, section the 8th. 3. Another from the
same epistle, section the 9th. 4. This we have been unable to trace,
but it relates to the statements contained in 1 Peter, iv. 6. 5. This
is described as from an epistle to Anastasia, a deaconness. Doubt-
less some spurious Ignatian document, of which this is the only
trace which has been discovered. We think it best to give this
passage as it stands in the Syriac, in order that our readers may
judge for themselves."
As to the Anastasian fragment, I observed : — Probably no one
will plead for the genuineness of this passage, and for ought we
know it may be found elsewhere under some other name than that
of Ignatius ; but it cannot be denied that it is deserving of attention
both on its own account, and for the honourable name it bears.
Who Anastasia was is of course unknown. The form of the name,
taken in connexion with the subject of the quotation, would suggest
the possibility that it is the invention of the writer. This, however,
is not conclusive, because the name is one which occurs in ancient
church history. It is moreover a curious fact that Suidas records a
correspondence between Chrysogonus a confessor, and Anastasia a
martyr, of the fourth century. This correspondence consists of four
letters, of which the first and third are ascribed to Anastasia, and
the second and fourth to Chrysogonus ; but they contain nothing like
the passage given above.
OBSERVATIONS. 107
49 The signs of the Zodiac here given as according to Bardesanes,
are probably the same as were current among the Chaldean philoso-
phers, and in Assyria in the second century.
50 This extract is curious for two reasons. It professes to explain
the peculiar doctrine of the Nicolaitans, who, it will be remarked
are usually charged with immorality of which nothing is said here.
It also explains the much debated clause on the statue of Hippo-
lytus, in which allusion is made to a work of his to Severina. This
extract enables us to say that Severina was the mother of Severus,
and that she not only listened to the teaching of Origen, but of
Hippolytus. "Whether Mammea was a Christian, may be considered
as probable, but is still uncertain.
51 Clemens Eomanus is not often quoted from in the Syrian manu-
scripts, and the accompanying extracts have eluded the vigilance of
the editor of the Corpus Ignatianum.
52 This is the only extract from Clemens Alexandrinus I have yet
discovered among the Mtrian manuscripts. The circumstance is
one for which I cannot account.
53 Origen also, as far as I can ascertain, is represented by a single
extract in the Syrian manuscripts. The passage is fanciful and un-
instructive, but I give it as nearly as I can.
54 The letter of Dionysius of Alexandria is given, I find, by
Eusebius, but I print it for comparison with his copy ; and to show
the use made of it, I have, as in some other cases, added a portion
of the context in which it stands. Dionysius died in or about
a.d. 264.
55 John of Jerusalem, died about a.d. 416. It was in his time
that the pretended discovery of St. Stephen's relics took place, as
stated in the inscription of the extract.
56 This short sentence from Methodius is merely given because
identical with an expression of Tertullian's referred to in the foot
note, Methodius is supposed to have died early in the 4th century
as a martyr. Fragments of his work in defence of the resurrection
are extant.
57 Eustathius of Antioch was at the Council of Mcea, and strongly
opposed Arius. The extracts are remarkable for saying that Photi-
nus was the same as Murinus. Certainly one is a translation of the
other. There is extant a document bearing the name of Murinus of
108 OBSERVATIONS.
whom nothing is known. Photinus was the contemporary of
Enstathius.
58 I have found no such passage in Justin, as the one here fathered
upon him.
59 Theodoras is probably a fictitious person, except the name be a
mistake for Tiberius, who was at one time believed to have corres-
ponded with Pilate about Jesus Christ.
60 This passage in the original is closely connected with the two
preceding, and is well known.
61 George, it seems, lived in the earlier part of the 8th century,
and appears to have been a Bishop among the Arabs. He addresses
the treatise from which the extracts are taken, to a friend who re-
sided at Banab or Banabe, which was in Mesopotamia, near the
Euphrates (see Ptolemy v. 18). This treatise has been printed by
Dr. de Lagarde, and is taken from a volume containing more by the
same writer (Add. MSS. 12154. See also 12144, 12165). The
style is prolix, but the author says some things at least in which the
Chronological student will be interested. His notices of " the wise
Persian," whom I take to be Jacob of Msibis, are by no means un-
important ; and his account of Gregory the Armenian is positively
valuable, so absolutely have his followers encumbered his history
with fables. I have merely given the headings of the last four
chapters. For the Mar Jacob alluded to on p. 67, see also p. 83.
62 The manuscript from which these items are taken is of the 8th
century. It contains much that is in Eusebius, but also many
things neither in his Chronicle nor in any other with which I am
acquainted. In the quotations I have followed the spelling of the
original as to proper names generally. It would require a commen-
tary to explain and illustrate all the peculiarities and difficulties of
this curious document. The chronology is of course the one which
dates from b.c. 311, or, as the writer says 310 before Christ. To
facilitate the use of it, I will first give the Syriac names of the
months, which have the same number of days as the Eoman.
January. ...Canon the latter.
February. . .Shebat.
March Adar.
April Nisan.
May Eyar.
June Haziran.
July Tammuz.
August Ab.
September. .Elul.
October Tishri the former.
November. .Tishri the latter.
December... Canon the former.
OBSERVATIONS. 109
According to the Syrians the year commences with Tishri the for-
mer, or October.
In the miscellaneous items, from p. 75 to 88, there are inaccu-
rate calculations, and other errors and obscurities, but some of these
are of small importance. Belus is regarded as the first king of
Assyria and Sardanapalus as the last. To this latter a place is
assigned at least 820 years B.C., and Abraham is made contem-
porary with Mnus. It will be observed that under the head of
Kings of Babel, we commence with Pul and Adrashach ; who this
Adrashach was is not clear, but he and Pul are the first of five
Assyrians, followed by four Chaldeans, a Mede, and Darius, son of
Shurus (?) The first year of the 50th Olympiad was 580 B.C., and
the second year of the 47th was 591. The list of Persian kings
from Cambyses to Alexander is curious, but somewhat incorrect.
Titicnus {i.e. Artabanus, I suppose), is put down for seven months,
and the actual sum of years is then 236 and 1 1 months. Arisolthus
should be Darius JSTothus ; Artaxerxes Ochus is transformed into
Artachshesheth Uchomo, or the Black; Perses takes the place of
Arses ; and Darius Codomanus is termed the son of Ershach. The
reference to the Olympiads is also wrong.
In the next list, we find Arnoba for Zenobia, and the sum of the
years is 274 and six months, although we require as many as are
stated, neither is the order of the monarchs always the same as we
find elsewhere. The list of Syrian kings also requires examination.
It will be seen (p. 77) that Judith is regarded as having lived under
Cambyses, here identified with the Nebuchadnezzar of that book.
Without tracing all the details, I will refer to a few. Cecrops
found out the name of Dios (Zeus), merely invented it, according to
the well-known fable. Some of the Greek classical names are con-
siderably altered, as Camus for Cadmus, and Bedlus for Belus. The
reference to Sihon as a king of the Arabians instead of the Amorites
is curious, but some of the details in this account are obscure.
At p. 81, the Alexandrian era is made to commence b.c. 309,
although 310 is elsewhere given, and 311 generally assumed as the
correct reckoning. The Archives of Edessa, here alluded to, were
very famous; but, if we may judge from the extracts stamped
with their authority, not always to be trusted. "We here get an
intimation that Carus {i.e. Cres) and Belus were the sons of Inachus.
The Tripolis erected by Xanthus is the Triopa Lesbum of Eusebius.
For Carmanus, on p. 82, I should read Cadmanus or Cadmus.
At p. 83, Chosroes is regularly termed Chosrun in the MS.
Cabas is the Greek Cabades. There are some dates here which
110 OBSERVATIONS.
require a word of explanation. Thus the year 848, the 9th of
Shebat, the third, should be a.d. 537, February 9, Indiction the
third. There is, however, an error, either in the year 848, for 837,
or in the Indiction. The next instance, a.d. 565, July the 22nd,
Indiction 13, is correct. On p. 84, the date 802, the 9th, should be
the 9th Indiction; 910, the 2nd, should be the 2nd Indiction; 904,
the 6th, should be the 6th Indiction; 915, the 7th, should be the
7th Indiction; and 920 should be the 10th Indiction, and not the
10th month. I need scarcely add that the Indictions were periods
of fifteen years each, and it will be observed that the word is itself
found in the MS. as copied on p. 86. On this page it will be seen
that Arabissus has applied to it an epithet which I have written
Tripotanius, but I am by no means certain of its true meaning.
The chronicler supplies here a record of painful interest. He states
that on February 4th, a.d. 634, a battle was fought near Gaza, be-
tween the Teian (Arab) followers of Mahomet and the Romans, in
which the Saracens were victorious. This would seem to have been
the first or nearly the first victory gained by the Mohammedans in
Palestine, soon however to be followed by the conquest of the
country. The next entry records their invasion and successes in
Syria, and with this the series of events terminates. Those which
follow appear to be merely omissions from the preceding pages.
If the reader will turn back to p. 84, he will find reference to
Antiochosrum, for which he may refer to Procopius on the Persian
Wars, bk. ii. chap. 14. Mazal Drahman is in the MSS. written as
one word. Hemus may stand for Emesa, but I am not sure that
Imma, near Antioch, is not meant. In the year 902 Domitian per-
secuted, etc., ought of course to be Chosrun. There are a few names
of places in the succeeding pages which I have failed to identify ;
nor do I remember to have met with the name of Zurac, the Persian
general referred to on p. 88.
In the notice of several Councils there is very little to detain us.
Yet I cannot say why Alexandria is called Alpharno (p. 88), and
Antioch Ludion (p. 89) except by sheer neglect. Hiba (p. 90) is the
well known Ibas of Edessa ; Aninicus of Saida seems to stand for
Amphilochius of Sida in Pamphylia, rather than for Damian of
Sidon, both of whom were at the Council. Eusebius of Dorliseus is
Eusebius of Doryleeuni.
The account of Mahomet and his successors is a precious little
chapter of history. The name of Mahomet is written both with a
final t and a final d as in the text, In the title of this piece a word,
which I believe to have been " prophet," has been erased, and has
OBSERVATIONS. Ill
been supplied in brackets. The term Mahagroye occurs elsewhere,
as at the close of the Paris MS. from which the first extracts in this
volume are taken: " Epistle of the blessed patriarch (Athanasius,
a.d. 684) to the effect that a Christian should not eat of the sacrifices
of the Mahagroye who now rule." It seems applied to the followers
of Mahomet as such, from the same root as Hegira (flight) ; and I
understand it to mean " fugitives" or " wanderers." The period
included in this table is 104 years, one month (not five months)?
and two days.
The short extracts from two rnartyrologies are specimens of a
large class. It will be seen that they are like all legends of a
similar character. Yet there is one in the volume from which I
have taken these (a MS. of the sixth century) of extreme interest.
I may refer to the journal and article mentioned at p. 93, for a
notice of it, and here I will only say that I speak of the acts of
Addi, and that I concluded the article in question with this note.
After referring to Eusebius, History lib. i. 12, and ii. 1, I remark :
— " On examining those portions of Eusebius which are here referred
to, several curious facts are at once elicited by comparing them with
the fragments before us. In the first place, both relate to the same
series of events, of which the former part is related by Eusebius,
and the latter by the Syriac fragment. Secondly, both profess to
emanate from the public archives of Edessa. Thirdly, both Euse-
bius and the Syriac speak of a certain Abdos, son of Abdos {Abdu
bar Abdu). Fourthly, both of them speak of the preaching and
miracles of the evangelist, and of his success. All these (and others
might be pointed out) suggest that we have here a portion of the
very document from which Eusebius derived his information. This
appears to be an almost necessary inference ; but on this very
account it encourages the suspicion that the statements made by
Eusebius are not all true. He found them in his record, and sup-
posed them to be of some antiquity ; but if he had read on to the
end, or reflected, he would have seen that the composition was quite
a recent one. Mention is made in it of Zephyrinus of Rome, who
died about a.d. 202, and of Serapion of Antioch, who lived till after
a.d. 210. Besides, it is added that the account *vas written after all
the events it records — that is, of course, after the last of them. It
therefore would seem to be most probable, and almost certain, that
the document was composed at or about the middle of the third
century. If this be the case, Eusebius's authentic contemporary
narrative was not written at Edessa till at most three-quarters of
a century before the date at which his own work ends. The whole
112 OBSERVATIONS.
question is curious, and by no means without interest and impor-
tance, especially if it appear that we have here stumbled upon one
of the original sources of a remarkable chapter in the Father of
Ecclesiastical History. The Greek and Latin writers after Eusebius,
who refer to the subject, need not be considered, as they merely
borrow from him."
STEPHEN AUSTIN, PRINTER, HERTFORD,
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY.
9, Conduit Street, W.
1875.
A Meeting of this Society will be holden on
TUESDAY, 4th MAY, 1875,
AT 8.3O P.M.,
when the following- papers will be read : —
I. — A Commentary with Notes, on the Deluge Tablet.
By H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S.
II. — On an Historical Inscription of the ioth Expedition
of Esarhaddon.
By William Boscawen.
III. — On an unique specimen of the Modern Syriac, or
Targum Dialect, of the Jews in Kurdistan.
By Rev. Albert Lowy.
The following Candidates will be nominated for Ballot in
June :—
Cable, Mrs. E., (Jersey.)
Capel, Rt. Rev. Monsignor T., D.D.
Coles, Rev. V. S.
Clark. Rev. Prof. Robt., (Kensington College.)
Ely, Talfourd, (University College.)
Greig, Robt. R., (Gray's Inn.)
Harris, Miss Susannah.
Kingdon, Rev. H. Tally, M.A., (Wells Street.)
Keime, Rev. Gustavus, (San Francisco.)
Ommanney, Admiral, C.B., F.RS.
Payne, William, F.R.G.S.
Prothero, Rev. Canon, (Westminster.)
Ram son, J. Joslyn.
Woodrooffe, Miss, (Winchester.)
Council at 7.30. Secretary.
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